What Caught My Eye Today

Fred's Note: Today's edition begins on a rather sad note. We had a death in the family. Family cat and beloved pet, Daisy passed on to the "Rainbow Bridge" today after 10 years keeping a watchful eye over Mom and Dad. We'll miss you, Daisy.

Iran - Remember all that stuff I said yesterday about Mamhoud Ahmadinejad and the Nobel Peace Prize (click here)? Yeah, well it would appear that I spoke a bit too soon. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the fighting in Gaza has been "a great lesson for all," saying it shows "the absolute defeat and desperation of this (Israeli) regime." He said that "even for the supporters of the occupying regime and its leaders, it has become clear that the continuation of the Zionist regime's life in the region is not feasible." Dude, what up with that? I thought you had turned over a new leaf. Meanwhile, Israeli troops pushed deeper into densely populated Gaza City on the 20th day of the offensive to rout out Hamas militants. The Israeli push ratcheted up pressure on Hamas to accept a proposed cease-fire. Egypt's proposal has centered on a temporary 10-day halt in fighting that would leave Israeli troops in place in Gaza while security arrangements are negotiated for border crossings to prevent weapons smuggling. Once that is done, Israeli troops would withdraw and the borders would be opened. Isn't it amazing how when you are beating the piss out of the other side, a truce becomes much more appealing to the "pissee"?

President Bush - Unpopular but unbowed, President George W. Bush defended his tumultuous two terms in a farewell address to the nation, claiming a hard-won record of achievement. I'm guessing his definition of achievement might vary a bit from the tradition one that you would find in a dictionary. Reaching back to the September 11 attacks, when the public rallied behind him, Bush declared the United States will "never tire, never falter and never fail." I will grant the guy this. Since that day, we haven't seen another terrorist attack on American soil under Bush's watch. Leaving office with the highest disapproval rating since Richard Nixon, Bush said, "You may not agree with some of the tough decisions I have made, but I hope you can agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions." Again, I concede that point to the President. But I think that's precisely why Bush isn't very popular with anyone. See, making tough decisions doesn't necessarily mean those decisions were right. I don't think anyone would argue that Bush was guilty of not doing anything, but rather the courses of action that he took were somewhat ill-conceived...or flat out wrong, depending on whose opinion you ask.

Air Travel - Have you heard of Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger? Me neither until today. Sully is the latest "Greatest American Hero". Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger maneuvered his crippled jetliner over New York City and ditched it in the frigid Hudson River on Thursday, and all 155 on board were pulled to safety as the plane slowly sank. The US Airways Airbus A320 bound for Charlotte, North Carolina, struck a flock of birds just after takeoff minutes earlier at LaGuardia Airport, apparently disabling the engines. Damn birds! Seriously, how awesome is this guy? A plane suffers catastrophic engine failure, and the pilot manages not only to ditch the plane in one piece, but then he gets all 150 passengers safely evacuated from the plane in just 90 seconds. The drinks are on me, Sully. Well done my friend. And let's not forget about all those folks on the Hudson River that rushed to the aid of the passengers. The water temperature at the time of the crash was a bone chilling 41 degrees.

Interrogation Techniques - CIA Director Michael Hayden strenuously defended the effectiveness of the CIA's harsh interrogation techniques, only moments after Attorney General-designate Eric Holder said the use of waterboarding was torture. Usually you only see irony like this in the movies. Though U.S. officials say interrogators have not engaged in waterboarding in the past five years, Hayden said the coercive techniques and other harsh tactics were useful in the war on terror. Which is exactly why you won't be running the CIA anymore, Mr. Hayden. Just because something is useful doesn't mean you should do it. Most of us learn that lesson in kindergarten, you dumbass. According to Hayden, the CIA held and interrogated fewer than 100 detainees at secret detention sites. Of those, a third were subjected to harsh techniques. Three of them, he acknowledged, were waterboarded. It was just one of the CIA's so-called enhanced interrogation techniques approved by the White House and Justice Department after the September 11, 2001, attacks for questioning alleged terrorists who the administration feared were plotting a follow-up attack. What you have here is a classic example of a euphemism. "Enhanced interrogation technique"--also known as "torture". I wonder what "alleged terrorist" was meant to signify--"anyone we don't like"?