What Caught My Eye Today - Citizenship, Medals, Asteroids, Junk Food

Fred's Note: Happy Valentine's Day, everyone.  In honor of the occasion, we'll try to make a "love connection" for each of today's items.

Citizenship -  It's been said that money cannot buy love or happiness, but I guess you can put a price on citizenship. Turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa has led to a surge of interest in programs that let investors buy citizenship or residence in countries around the world in return for a healthy contribution or investment. Most are seeking a second passport for hassle-free travel or a ready escape hatch in case things get worse at home. Arab Spring in the Middle East. Al Qaeda uprisings in North Africa. How much "worse" are these folks expecting things to get?  "Investor visa" or citizenship programs are offered by many nations, including the United States, Canada, Britain and Austria. But the Caribbean countries offer a fast path to citizenship at a very low cost. The whole process, including background checks, can take as little as 90 days in St. Kitts. And there's no need to ever live on the islands, or even visit. That may be true, but I gotta say, you could do a lot worse than hanging out in a Caribbean paradise unless, of course, you prefer the soothing sounds of civil unrest and unfettered gunshots. A foreigner can qualify for citizenship in St. Kitts with a $250,000 donation to a fund for retired sugar workers or with a minimum real estate investment of $400,000. The minimum contribution in Dominica is $100,000. By contrast, a U.S. program allows visas for a $1 million investment in a U.S. business employing at least 10 people or $500,000 in designated economically depressed areas. The investor can apply for permanent residence in two years, and seek citizenship after five more. And they said there was no path to citizenship. Turns out there is...if you happen to have a million dollars burning a hole in your pocket. Demand in Canada is so great that the country stopped accepting new applications last summer. Critics say the programs undermine the integrity of national passports and have security risks. While there are no known cases of terrorists using the programs, experts say that's a possibility with many visa arrangements anywhere. Here's the thing. People determined to do evil are going to find a way to do so. I doubt "investor visas" are going to contribute to the problem. Heck, if anything, issuing more visas might make it easier to keep track of such individuals.

Medals - Good news for those whose love of country doesn't necessary put them in the line of fire.The Pentagon is creating a medal that can be awarded to troops who have a direct impact on combat operations, but do it well away from any combat zone. The new Distinguished Warfare Medal will be awarded to individuals for "extraordinary achievement" related to a military operation that occurred after September 11, 2001.  But unlike other combat medals, it does not require the recipient risk his or her life to get it. In the article I read, there was specific mention of recognizing drone aircraft operators who have been instrumental in strategic air strikes against terrorist targets.  The new medal will be the first combat-related award to be created since the Bronze Star in 1944. A recognition of the evolving 21st century warfare, the medal will be considered a bit higher in ranking than the Bronze Star, but is lower than the Silver Star, defense officials said. The Bronze Star is the fourth highest combat decoration and rewards meritorious service in battle, while the Silver Star is the third highest combat award given for bravery. If recent engagements in Afghanistan and Pakistan have proven anything, its that you don't have to have boots on the ground to fight a war. I think its great that there is recognition for all of our soldiers' contributions.

Asteroids - Less than 24 hours until the next "close call."  Best not take any chances...go tell your loved ones just how much they mean to you...just in case. The 150-foot-wide asteroid 2012 DA14 — which will zoom within 17,200 miles of Earth on Friday, marking the closest approach by such a large space rock that astronomers have ever known about in advance — may harbor $65 billion of recoverable water and $130 billion in metals, say officials with celestial mining firm Deep Space Industries. $130 billion? That's a lot of bling for your better half. The company has no plans to go after 2012 DA14; the asteroid's orbit is highly tilted relative to Earth, making it too difficult to chase down. But the space rock's close flyby serves to illustrate the wealth of asteroid resources just waiting to be extracted and used, Deep Space officials said. Deep Space Industries is just one of two asteroid-mining firms that have revealed their existence and intentions in the past 10 months. Deep Space aims to launch a phalanx of small, robotic prospecting probes called Fireflies in 2015. Sample-return missions to potential targets would occur shortly thereafter, with space mining operations possibly beginning around 2020. Sure there's $200 billion to be had according to the brilliant minds at Deep Space; too bad they have no clue how to get it.  Maybe I can get in on this.  I bet if I come up with a cure for cancer I could make a fortune. Of course, I don't know the first thing about the causes of cancer or existing cancer treatment protocols, but why should that slow me down?

Junk Food - No one said love (or in this case a serious food craving) was painless. A regular patron and unofficial spokesman for the Heart Attack Grill has died of an apparent heart attack, the second unofficial Heart Attack Grill spokesman to die in as many years. Founded in 2005, the unapologetically unhealthy restaurant employs waitresses dressed as nurses and serves butterfat milkshakes, "flatliner" fries and 9,982-calorie "quadruple bypass burgers." Yes, you read that correctly and for that, these guys got themselves into the Guinness Book of World Records. Patrons who are able to finish them are escorted to their cars in wheelchairs. Customers who weigh over 350 pounds eat free. Since opening in Las Vegas in October 2011, there have been various reports of customers having medical emergencies while dining at the grill. As the song says...Love hurts.

And on that note, we're done. So go out there and show some love to someone.