What Caught My Eye Today

Egypt - As much as I like to poke fun at world events, sometimes there is nothing funny about a situation. Sadly, such is the case in Egypt. Protesters and government supporters fought in a second day of rock-throwing battles at a central Cairo square while more lawlessness spread around the city. New looting and arson erupted, and gangs of thugs supporting President Hosni Mubarak attacked reporters, foreigners and rights workers while the army rounded up foreign journalists. What does it say about the current regime when the best way to describe its supporters is as "thugs"? The government is increasingly spread an image that foreigners, specifically journalists, were fueling the turmoil and supporting the unprecedented wave of demonstrations demanding the ouster of Mubarak. Just out of curiosity, what does the Egyptian government think the motivation is behind these alleged seditious remarks. I'm not sure there are that many journalists willing to risk their lives to the extent that they would make up lies to create headlines. Reputations...sure, but not lives. Now if all this isn't enough, we have Mubarak offering up his latest pearls of wisdom. Mubarak said today he wanted to quit but that he feared his resignation would bring chaos to Egypt. Good call, bro. Staying in office has worked out so much better.

Yemen - Things don't look much better here. Tens of thousands of protesters Thursday staged unprecedented demonstrations against Yemen's autocratic president, a key U.S. ally in battling Islamic militants, as unrest inspired by uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia spread further in the Arab world. Fascinating dilemma for U.S. policy markers, don't you think. On one hand, the U.S. is supposed to be the gold standard for democracy and freedom of the people. On the other, you have a bunch of authoritarian governments doing a pretty good job of putting a serious "beat down" on terrorist organizations.Who do they think they are, putting the interests of their own people ahead of that of the United States? And they wonder why we are so suspicious of them. I think the answer is pretty obvious. President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in office for more than three decades, announced Wednesday he would not seek re-election in 2013. One last thing, is it just me or is it sort of creepy how similar the government situation in Yemen is to that in Egypt. It's like Yemen is reading from the same script as Egypt but is behind by a couple of acts.

Algeria - Okay, it took some effort, but if I read this correctly, there is some actual good news coming out of Africa. Algeria will lift the state of emergency that has been in effect since 1992 in the "very near future." The state of emergency was declared as Algeria spiraled into a civil war between Islamists and government forces, a years long battle that killed up to 200,000 people. Violence has tapered off and attacks by militants are now only sporadic. The government has insisted the state of emergency was a necessary tool in the fight against terrorism, but critics charge that recently it has been used to muzzle the political opposition by banning marches. Far be it from me to be a nay-sayer, but one questions when the "very near future" might actually be. I'm all for the government doing the right thing, but they probably could not have picked a worse time to allow people to freely speak their minds. Clearly, they are "mad as hell" and do not appear interested in "taking it anymore" (to paraphrase Howard Beale from the cinematic masterpiece "Network").

Fred's Note: Given of all seriousness of events gripping the world today, I wanted to end today's posting with some lighter items (though, in my humble opinion, equally as newsworthy).

Popular Culture - The red swimsuit that helped make "Charlie's Angels" actress Farrah Fawcett a 1970s icon is going to the Smithsonian in Washington. You mean it wasn't already there? That just ain't right. Fawcett's longtime companion Ryan O'Neal donated the swimsuit and other items to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. A 1976 poster of Fawcett in the dampened one-piece swimsuit sold millions of copies. Also donated to the Smithsonian were Fawcett's copies of scripts for the first season of "Charlie's Angels" and a 1977 Farrah Fawcett doll. The items will be part of the museum's popular culture history collection. Anyone care to hazard a guess as to whether David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson aren't waiting with baited breath for the Smithsonian to call about getting its hands on some of that "Baywatch" wardrobe?

Art - An Italian researcher has suggested that Gian Giacomo Caprotti, known as Salai, longtime companion and possible lover of Leonardo da Vinci was the main influence and a model for the "Mona Lisa" painting. This is one of many theories that have circulated over the decades about the identity of "Mona Lisa" and the meaning for her famously enigmatic smile. Others have said the painting was a self-portrait in disguise, or the depiction of a Florentine merchant's wife — the latter drawing a consensus among scholars. I think the real genius in this painting or any artistic masterpiece is its ability to inspire debate over several generations or, in this case, hundreds of years. It is what makes these unique creations timeless. Of course, there is the other side of me that reads this and thinks, "Dude, the Mona Lisa was a guy?"

PETA - I love Superbowl season. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) A charity which lobbies for the rights of animals has caused a stir by producing a 30-second spot deemed too risque to be aired on television during the Super Bowl. Bear in mind that this is the FOX network we're talking about here, so it must really be pushing the envelope.You can decide for yourselves if you think this is too racy for network television. You should know that the fine folks at YouTube will ask you to verify your age before you can view the clip (click here). If you ask me, this is about as racy as one of those over-hyped web only versions of a GoDaddy.com ad.