What Caught My Eye Today

Iraq - President Bush has agreed to set a "general time horizon" for deeper U.S. troop cuts in Iraq, a dramatic shift from his once-ironclad unwillingness to talk about any kind of deadlines or timetables. I'm sorry, but what exactly did Bush commit to here? "General time horizon" could mean anything from "tomorrow" to "within a year or two" to "when pigs start flying out of my butt." The announcement put Bush in the position of offering to talk with Iraqi leaders about a politically charged issue that he adamantly has refused to discuss with the Democratic-led Congress at home. No big surprise there. Generally speaking, about the only thing Bush likes to discuss with Congress is about how useless Congress has been over the last couple of years. The White House statement was intentionally vague and did not specify what kind of timelines were envisioned. That allows Iraqi officials, who are facing elections in the fall, to argue they are not beholden to Washington or willing to tolerate a permanent military presence in Iraq. Iraq has proposed requiring U.S. forces to fully withdraw five years after the Iraqis take the lead on security nationwide — though that condition could take years to meet. So with all that being said, one can basically conclude that Bush's statement was essentially meaningless. So what else is new?

Oil - Given how lousy the economy is, I guess this qualifies as good news...barely. Prices at the pump pulled back from record highs as another slide in oil capped crude's biggest one-week drop in more than three years. Gasoline dropped by nearly a penny at filling stations across the country. Now bear in mind that this huge drop only came to pass as a result of a nearly $16 drop in the price of a barrel of oil in the past week. Had oil prices gone up by $16 in a week, I'm betting that we would have seen a slightly higher increase in gas prices.

North Korea - This is just plain sad (a little fun, true; but very sad)... North Korea's phantom hotel is stirring back to life. Once dubbed by Esquire magazine as "the worst building in the history of mankind," the 105-story Ryugyong Hotel is back under construction after a 16-year lull in the capital of one of the world's most reclusive and destitute countries. The hotel consists of three wings rising at 75 degree angles capped by several floors arranged in rings supposed to hold five revolving restaurants and an observation deck. A creaky building crane has for years sat unused at the top of the 3,000-room hotel in a city where tourists are only occasionally allowed to visit. Why on Earth, would North Korea go to such great lengths (and expense) to build such a hideous edifice? The communist North started construction in 1987, in a possible fit of jealousy at South Korea, which was about to host the 1988 Summer Olympics and show off to the world the success of its rapidly developing economy. Oh. So there you have it. By 1992, worked was halted. The North's main benefactor the Soviet Union had dissolved a year earlier and funding for the hotel had vanished. Here comes the sad--and a little funny--part For a time, the North airbrushed images of the Ryugyong Hotel from photographs. As the North's economy took a deeper turn for the worse in the 1990s the empty shell became a symbol of the country's failure, earning nicknames "Hotel of Doom" and "Phantom Hotel." It is estimated to cost up to $2 billion to finish the Ryugyong Hotel and make it safe. That is equivalent to about 10% of the North's annual economic output. Oh, I'm sure psycho boy (a.k.a. Kim Il Jong) will consider this to be money well spent.

Movies - The latest installment in the Batman franchise, "The Dark Knight," lit up cash registers during its midnight debut with a record $18.5 million from 3,040 theaters. That bested the 2005 performance of "Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith," which took in $16.9 million during its midnight debut in 2,915 venues. The movie directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale as Batman cost $185 million to make. Critics have heaped praise on the movie — especially the late Heath Ledger's turn as the Joker, which has already generated whispers of a posthumous Oscar nomination. Not a bad way to start. Of course, in today's market, you almost have to have a monster opening to recoup your investment. Nowadays, a theatrical run--even for a summer blockbuster--rarely last more than 6 or 7 weeks. On another note, I for one hope Ledger does get that Oscar nod. He was a great actor with an incredible resume to his credit.

Golf - Day two at the British Open...sans Tiger Woods. KJ Choi claimed birdies on his last two holes to knock Greg Norman off the top of the British Open leaderboard after two rounds. The South Korean claimed the outright lead after completing a three-under-par 67 that left him at one under for the tournament, one shot ahead of the veteran Australian, who registered his second 70 of the tournament. You go, Shark. And now for the meltdown of the day, from one of the most notorious meltdown artists in professional golf. John Daly, the 1995 British Open champion, carded an abysmal 89 to miss the cut at a whopping 29-over. Daly has been battling injuries and the ravages of his own ill-disciplined lifestyle as he tries to revive his rapidly fading fortunes and he had hopes that he could achieve that over the Royal Birkdale links.That's got to hurt. Though one needs to put this sort of thing into perspective. Seriously, if I carded a 29-over for just a single round, I'd be buying drinks for everyone within earshot.

Potpourri - This doesn't really fall into any category and I wouldn't exactly call this news, but it is a rather amusing look into the laws of averages (courtesy of DivineCaroline.com)...

• Odds of dying from a dog bite: 1 in 20 million
  Odds of becoming a saint: 1 in 20 million
• Odds of becoming president: 1 in 10,000,000
  Odds of dying from parts falling off an airplane: 1 in 10,000,000
  I wonder what the odds are for becoming a good president
• Odds you will be injured by a toilet this year: 1 in 10,000
  Odds of finding a four-leaf clover on the first try: 1 in 10,000
• Odds of spotting a UFO today: 1 in 3,000,000
  Odds of dying from food poisoning: 1 in 3,000,000
• Odds of dying from a shark attack: 1 in 300,000,000
  Odds of dying from Measles: 1 in 300,000,000
• Odds of a child being in a fatal automobile accident: 1 in 23,000
  Odds of being wrongly declared dead by a Social Security data entry mistake: 1 in 23,483
• Odds of writing a New York Times best seller: 1 in 220
  Honestly, I would have thought that this would have been a higher number
  Odds of dating a millionaire: 1 in 215
  By extension, it would follow that the odds of marrying and divorcing a millionaire are similarly rather high, relatively speaking
• Odds of getting AIDS from heterosexual sex without using a condom: 1 in 5,000,000
  Odds of dying from contact with hot tap water: 1 in 5,005,564
• Odds of winning an Academy Award: 1 in 11,500
  Odds of bowling a 300 game: 1 in 11,500