What Caught My Eye Today

The Hague - Read this carefully and see if you are as perplexed as I was. Former Bosnian Serv military chief Ratko Mladic was evicted from his trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia after repeatedly interrupting the proceedings with complaints. Mladic is charged with genocide and crimes against humanity in the 1992-95 Bosnian war, including the massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica. I don't know much about international law, but isn't it going to be a bit challenging to conduct a trial for the defendant if you expel him from the proceedings? Isn't that going to make it rather difficult to see justice served? I'm guessing that is the primary purpose of the Tribunal in the first place.

Potpourri - After the last installment, we're switching gears back to some normalcy, though if you are looking for a theme, "coincidence" would certainly fit the bill.

• Wars on Terrorism - According to a new study by Brown University, the final bill for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq will come to between $3.7 trillion and $4.4 trillion, including nation-building efforts; the cost of providing medical care, services, and long-term benefits to veterans; and interest on what the U.S. borrowed to fund the wars. For those of you who pay attention to such things, President Obama is currently working with Congress to reduce the federal debt by $4 trillion. I'm sure this is purely coincidental.
• Executive Pay - Despite the soft economy, high unemployment and stagnant wages for most workers, top executives got huge raises last year. The average paycheck for top executives at 200 big companies in 2010 was $10.8 million, a 23% increase from 2009. Perhaps there might be some correlation between that and the resentment some many workers have against their bosses. Not me, of course. I'd take a bullet for my boss.
• Eating - Over the last three decades, Americans went from eating 3.8 meals and snacks a day to 4.9 a day. The average American now consume about 2,375 calories per day, 32% more than in the 1970s. Interesting. A 32% increase in calorie intake matched by a 29% increase in meals and snacks. Yeah, there's no cause and effect here.

Soccer - If you recall, I picked 7 out of 8 teams advancing out of Women's World Cup group play. In quarterfinal action, I managed 3 out of 4:

• Germany vs. Japan
• Sweden vs Australia
• England vs. France
• Brazil vs. U.S.A.

I'm not sure how the remaining team could possibly match the drama of the quarterfinals, but I sure hope they try. The experts almost universally agree that the U.S.A. squad is the clear favorite to win the World Cup. Last time I checked, the team that claims the Cup still needs to win two more matches. Here are my semi final picks:

• France vs. U.S.A. - Honestly, how could you pick against the U.S.A. after what they pulled off in the quarterfinals?
• Japan vs. Sweden - I'm sort of at a loss on this one. Both teams have overachieved and played extremely well. I'm going with the team that knocked off the host nation, Japan