What Caught My Eye Today

Did You Know - Every once and awhile I come across a fascinating little nugget of knowledge. I have such a nugget today in the form of a riddle. What do the following items have in common: Roundup weed killer, explosives, fertilizer, Miracle Gro plant food, metal cleaner, nerve agents, lithium-ion batteries, flame retardants (in clothing), Kraft Cheese Singles, and soft drinks? I'll give you the answer at the end of today's posting.

Al Qaeda - Al Qaeda in Iraq tried to blow up a U.S. plane by planting bombs inside dogs. Seriously? Recruiting suicide bombers is cowardly enough, but to resort to trying to blow up dogs. This is why no one likes these guys. The attempt happened two years ago, when terrorist surgically implanted powerful explosives inside two stray dogs, placed the animals in kennel carriers, and booked them on a flight to the U.S. But the dogs died before the carriers were loaded onto the plane, and investigators found the bombs inside them. Someone implants a bomb in a dog, and then the dog dies. Who could have predicted that?

Myanmar - It turns out the fine folks in Myanmar, or Burma if you prefer, have held themselves a little election. I wonder who won? The main military-backed party won Myanmar's first election in 20 years in a landslide. I'm stunned. Despite the fact that the main opposition party boycotted the election, international observers alleged that the junta engaged in widespread fraud, including pre-marked ballots, stuffed ballot boxes, and voter intimidation. One questions the junta's tactics. Honestly, who else could the people have possibly voted for? The main opposition party was boycotting the election for crying out loud.

Sudan - The government of Sudan has agreed to a planned referendum on secession to proceed. A 2005 peace agreement called for a referendum on splitting the oil-rich south from Sudan's north, where the government is based. Observers have feared that the government would block the vote leading to a renewal of a civil war that has already killed some 2 million people. The United Status has offered the Sudanese government incentives, including debt relief, the lifting of sanctions, and the removal of Sudan from the State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism. I can see that. It's not like the U.S. has much to lose in this deal. Once Sudan splits, the Americans can make their money back with the new southern half and slap the new northern half back onto that terrorism list.

Return on Investment - Apple earned 0.75% on its $51 billion in cash and investments in its latest fiscal year. For those of you who were wondering, that's $382.5 million in interest. That's a lower return than a typical U.S. savings account and pales next to the roughly 10% investors would have earned from the Standard and Poor's 500-stock index over that time. Did I mention that Apple doesn't pay a dividend? I suppose what I find intriguing about this story is that it lends credibility to that old adage, "brains aren't everything". You would think that the guys that came up with the iPod, iPhone and iPad could figure out how to open up a high yield savings account. It's not as if Apple cannot make the minimum balance requirement.

Did You Know - So what miracle ingredient is found in weed killer, explosives, nerve agents and a can of Coca Cola? Why phosphate of course. And check this out. Turns out Morocco has 85% of the world's total of the stuff.