What Caught My Eye Today

Presidential Transition - You may have noticed that I recently added a portlet to keep you up to date on Barack Obama's Cabinet picks. Here's the latest scuttlebutt. Seeking experience in a time of war, President-elect Barack Obama will keep Defense Secretary Robert Gates in that job and he has chosen retired Marine General James Jones to be his National Security Adviser. Gates, who has served as President George W. Bush's defense chief for two years, will remain in the Cabinet for some time, probably a year. Gates, a moderate with long-standing ties to Republican administrations and the Bush family, would fulfill an Obama pledge to include a Republican in his Cabinet. Well now that is convenient, isn't it? Not only does Gates provide stability and continuity at a critical time, but he also serves a political purpose for the opposition party. How often does that sort of thing happen? As Obama's choice for national security adviser, Jones has impeccable military credentials, an ambassador's polish and an imposing physical presence at 6 foot 4 inches. He's highly regarded by Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill, and as the NATO alliance's top commander — his last assignment before retiring from the military in early 2007 — he's a respected figure in capitals across Europe. It never hurts to have a formidable physical presence to assist in the respect department. Sounds like Jones is a pretty smart cookie already, but scaring the piss out of potential adversaries with a towering physique has to be considered a bonus.

On a related note, seems Obama's Cabinet picks have impressed at least one dude in Washington. Joe Lieberman said that Barack Obama's actions since winning the presidency have been "just about perfect." Lieberman, the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2000, was re-elected to the Senate in 2006 as an independent but continues to caucus with Democrats. He supported Republican John McCain's presidential campaign, going as far as to criticize Obama and make a speech at the Republican National Convention. Democrats threatened to strip him of his chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee but instead removed him as head of a smaller environmental subcommittee. Always nice to see that the art of blatantly kissing ass is practiced even at the highest levels of government. I was thinking that this sort of thing was done by slackers like me trying to worm out of having to do any real work.

Venezuela - Speaking of brown-nosers, let's see what our boy Hugo Chavez is up to. Russian warships sailed into port in Venezuela in a show of strength as Moscow seeks to counter U.S. influence in Latin America. Russia's first such deployment in the Caribbean since the Cold War is timed to coincide with President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to Venezuela, the first ever by a Russian president. Chavez, basking in the support of a powerful ally and traditional U.S. rival, wants Russian help to build a nuclear reactor, invest in oil and natural gas projects and bolster his leftist opposition to U.S. influence in the region. What a suck-up. He also wants weapons — Venezuela has bought more than $4 billion in Russian arms. Does anyone, besides me of course, think that Chavez is trying to compensate for some shortcomings that he's ashamed of? Russia's ambitions in Latin America, however, may be checked by global events. Both Venezuela and Russia are feeling the pinch of slumping oil prices, and their ability to be major benefactors for like-minded leaders is in doubt given the pressures of the world's financial crisis. Global recessions can be a bitch, can't they? I'm guessing that when oil was trading at a buck fifty ($150) a barrel, neither of these nation's braintrusts (government officials) ever thought that perhaps it might be a good idea to lock in some of those profits on the off chance that oil prices might fall. Incidentally, last time I checked oil closed at just over $50 a barrel.

Thailand - Protesters swarmed Thailand's main international airport forcing the cancellation of departing flights. Riddle me this--how do a bunch of protesters manage to shut down an entire airport, runways and all? It was the boldest move yet by the People's Alliance for Democracy in a months long campaign to topple Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, whom it accuses of being the puppet of a disgraced fugitive predecessor, billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra. This was the first time there was open use of guns by the alliance's so-called guards and the entanglement of foreigners — the thousands of tourists trapped at the international airport. Talk about your exotic holiday from hell. The alliance has staged a number of dramatic actions in recent months. It took over the prime minister's office in late August and twice blockaded Parliament — one time setting off street battles with police that ended with two people dead and hundreds injured. See, things are totally different in America. When we don't like our leaders, what do we do---elect them to serve another term. Wait. That was four years ago. We totally got it right this time around. Anyway, back to the story. Here's an interesting angle. The anti-government protesters are mostly better educated, more affluent, urban Thais demanding that the country move away from a Western-style electoral system, which they say Thaksin exploited to buy votes. They instead favor a system in which some representatives are chosen by certain professions and social groups. Usually anti-government protest are held to move toward Western-style democracies. Apparently, Thai officials have managed to bastardize democracy to suit their purposes. Clearly, these guys have not been given enough credit for their ingenuity.

Gay Rights - Is it just me or is there a trend developing here? A judge ruled that a strict Florida law that blocks gay people from adopting children is unconstitutional, declaring there was no legal or scientific reason for sexual orientation alone to prohibit anyone from adopting. The judge rejected the state's arguments that there is "a supposed dark cloud hovering over homes of homosexuals and their children." Maybe that's because there is no legal basis to the argument. Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union said the case was the first in the nation in which numerous experts in child psychology, social work and other fields testified that there is no science to justify a gay adoption ban. Organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association and American Psychiatric Association all support permitting same-sex couples to adopt. I'm too young to have lived through the legal ranglings of the 1960s related to racial discrimination, so maybe the civil rights issue of my generation will be remembered as the fight for equal rights regardless of sexual orientation. Of course, I'm sure the Mormons will want to have their say before this thing is over. So stay tuned.