What Caught My Eye Today
Iran - The Iranians attempted to elect themselves a president this weekend. The key word be "attempted". Protesters set fires and smashed store windows as groups challenging President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election tried to keep pressure on authorities. Rival candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi, sent a letter to the Guardian Council — a powerful clerical group — calling for the election to be canceled. He has claimed that he was the real winner. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has closed the door for a possible compromise. He could have used his near-limitless powers to intervene in the election dispute. But, in a message on state TV on Saturday, he urged the nation to unite behind Ahmadinejad, calling the result a "divine assessment." Political posturing aside, it's Khamenei who pretty much has the final--well, pretty much, the only--say on this. If he's made up his mind that Ahmadinejad has won the election, then all this speculation is mute. I'm thinking that when Khamenei make mention of "divine assessment" he's referring to his own.
War on Terror - Director Leon Panetta says former Vice President Dick Cheney's criticism of the Obama administration's approach to terrorism almost suggests "he's wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point." One would assume that Panetta is exaggerating just a tad bit, to make a point. Then again, this is Cheney we're talking about, so you never know. Cheney has said in several interviews that he thinks Obama is making the U.S. less safe. He has been critical of Obama for ordering the closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, halting enhanced interrogations of suspected terrorists and reversing other Bush administration initiatives he says helped to prevent attacks on the U.S. Don't get me wrong here, I think that Cheney's notion of suspending all the principles that America was founded on, in order to protect those very same principles is, by definition, flawed. However, I wouldn't for one moment question Cheney's patriotism. As much as I like the sound bite, I think Panetta went a bit off the reservation on this one.
Potpourri - Here's a hodge podge of news items whose only common link is this--Oh, come on. Like this really happened.
- A fisherman reeled in a live missile off the coast of Florida in waters used for weapons training by the Navy. The bomb squad that dismantled the bomb said it could have exploded at any time.
And that my friends, is what you call a bona fide fishing story. - A Virginia clinic is offering free Botox injections to the unemployed. A patient explained her rational for taking advantage of the offer--"You're more likely to be perceived in a better light, if you look good."
by all means. I'd totally go with a freakishly fake smile as opposed to relying on actual marketable job skills. - European budget airline Ryanair announced plans to charge passengers for each trip to the bathroom. Two of the three bathrooms on each plan will also be removed to make more room for extra seats. The CEO justified the move saying, "We are flying aircraft on an average flight time of one hour around Europe. What the hell do we need three toilets for?
Of course that hour refers to time in the air only. I'm guessing that doesn't account for the 30 odd minutes you're sitting on the plane during preboarding, or the time you spend on the taxiway before and after your flight. But I'm sure the folks at Ryanair know what they're doing. What could possibly go wrong with limiting access to a bathroom? - A California judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by a woman who said she had purchased "Cap'n Crunch with Crunchberries" because she believed "crunchberries" were real fruit.
Seriously, who determined that this case had enough merit to be brought to a judge in the first place?
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