What Caught My Eye Today

2008 Presidential Race - Let's hope this isn't a harbinger of things to come. A man was arrested by the Secret Service in Miami and was ordered held at Miami's downtown detention center without bail on charges he threatened to assassinate Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. A Secret Service affidavit charges that the man made the threat during a training class for bail bondsmen in Miami in late July. According to someone else in the class, he allegedly referred to Obama with a racial epithet and continued, "If he gets elected, I'll assassinate him myself." The suspect denied in a written statement to a Secret Service agent that he ever made those threats, and the documents don't indicate that he ever took steps to carry out any assassination. Well sure, maybe the Secret Service should have waited until an opportunity presented itself for the guy to take his shot before it apprehended him. In the affidavit, the Secret Service said the suspect told agents that he suffered from psychiatric problems including post-traumatic stress disorder, but he couldn't provide the names of any facilities where he sought treatment. Apparently, we can add selective memory loss to the list of psychiatric problems this whack job is suffering from.

China - In a speech on Asian policy delivered in Bangkok, Thailand, on the eve of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, President Bush chided China over its record of religious freedom and human rights. Does the concept of bad timing mean nothing to the President? Despite the critique, Bush praised what has become a "constructive relationship" between the United States and China in trade and diplomacy. I'm guessing that this was Bush's way of trying to soften his previous comment. I wonder if the Chinese bought it? China said it is committed to its citizens' "basic rights and freedoms" and criticized Bush for meddling in what Beijing says are its internal affairs. Based on that, I would say probably not. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said, "We firmly oppose any statements or deeds which use human rights, religion and other issues to interfere with the internal affairs of other countries." Oh, there's more. This dude is just getting warmed up. "Chinese citizens enjoy freedom of religion in accordance with the law. These facts are well known. Regarding the Sino-U.S. differences on issues including human rights and religion, we have always insisted on dialogue and communication based on mutual equality and mutual respect, in order to enhance understanding, reduce differences and to expand consensus," he went on to say. In diplomatic terms, this is what you might call a tongue lashing. I'm not sure that I blame China for its reaction. Think about it. If some other country was to accuse us of human rights violations--and according to our government Guantanamo Bay doesn't count--how would that make us feel. And honestly, Mr. President, for once can you try not to piss off another country, especially when you are visiting as a guest to attend the biggest sporting event ever held in it?

Iraq - Iraqi officials said that Iraq and the U.S. are near an agreement on all American combat troops leaving Iraq by October 2010, with the last soldiers out three years after that. Okay so which is it, 2010 or 2013? Maybe I'm a bit slow, but if all combat troops leave Iraq by October 2010, who exactly would be left to leave three years later? U.S. officials, however, insisted no dates had been agreed. Of course not. Why would we agree to time lines when we have time horizons? The proposed agreement calls for Americans to hand over parts of Baghdad's Green Zone — where the U.S. Embassy is located — to the Iraqis by the end of 2008. It would also remove U.S. forces from Iraqi cities by June 30, 2009. U.S. acceptance of a specific timeline would represent a dramatic reversal of American policy in place since the war began in March 2003. Throughout the conflict, President Bush steadfastly refused to accept any timetable for bringing U.S. troops home. Last month, however, Bush and al-Maliki agreed to set a "general time horizon" for ending the U.S. mission. Iraq's position in the U.S. talks hardened after a series of Iraqi military successes against Shiite and Sunni extremists in Basra, Baghdad, Mosul and other major cities and after the rise in world oil prices flooded the country with petrodollars. Well, I'm glad someone is benefiting for the higher oil prices, cause I sure the heck am not.

Footloose - Okay 1980s pop culture junkies, this one is for you. Who can forget the awesome soundtrack that accompanied the 1984 movie starring Kevin Bacon? Clearly it got under the skin of indie musician Thomas Bartlett a.k.a. Doveman. Dude released a remake of the soundtrack. I listened to a couple of the tracks and can honestly say I've never heard anything quite like this...and I don't mean that in a good way. Feel free to have a listen for yourselves (click here), though I warn you--those few minutes that you spend on this will be gone forever, so do so at your own peril.

Football - Good news for Olympic fans. Now that Brett Favre's destiny for the upcoming season has been sorted out--boyfriend was traded from the Green Bay Packers to the New York Jets--we can all take a collective breath of relief and settle in for two weeks of Olympic drama.