What Caught My Eye Today - North Korea, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Cuba, Potpourri

North Korea - Kim Jong-Un was "re-elected" as North Korea's leader.  Yeah, those incumbents always seem to have luck on their side don't they? Then again, this is the same guy that had his uncle executed to solidify his position of authority, which probably doesn't do much to motivate opposition candidates. The rubber-stamp assembly -- the first under the leadership of Kim who took over from his father in December 2011 -- gathered after North Koreans cast ballots in pre-determined elections where all candidates were unopposed. There's an oxymoron for you..."pre-determined election". Sort of in the same vein as "unopposed candidates". If you are unopposed, what exactly are you being elected to? According to state media reports, Upon his re-election, "all the deputies and participants in the session broke into stormy cheers of 'hurrah!', extending the highest glory and warmest congratulations to him." Avunculicide aside (turns out there is an actual term or killing one's uncle). boyfriend sounds like he'd be a hoot to hang out with. Kim also serves as first secretary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea and supreme commander of the Korean People's Army.  Busy lad.

Kenya - A new bill was signed into law allowing men in Kenya to take as many wives as they want, legalizing the longstanding practice of polygamy while outlawing the paying of a dowry to a bride's family. No double standard there. The bill, which allows men to marry a second or third wife without the first wife's consent was passed by Parliament following heated debates that saw female lawmakers storm out of the chamber in protest. Imagine that. Women, meanwhile, are not allowed to marry more than one man.  You can see the logic there, can't you?  How complicated with things be if both men and women could have multiple spouses at the same time? Better to give men free reign and screw women's rights.

Saudi Arabia - A deadly new virus is spreading rapidly across Saudi Arabia and terrifying health care workers. 345 people have come down with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, of whom 107 have died. Many of the infected are doctors or nurses prompting some doctors to resign rather than treat MERS patients. That sort of reaction seems contrary to the Hippocratic Oath, but one can sympathize with their situation. It is a lot harder to practice medicine when you're dead.  The recently appointed health minister is urging Saudis to avoid direct contact with camels, a host of the virus, as well as raw camel milk and meat.  This is one of those times when cultural differences come into start contrast.  Where I come from, you just don't see see public service announcements for this sort of thing.  Avoiding raw camel meat is assumed to be a given.

Canada - The Canadian middle class has passed the United States middle class to be the richest in the world. Those rat bastards! Who do they think they are? After-tax middle incomes in Canada, which were well behind the U.S. just 15 years ago, caught up in 2010 and have now pulled ahead. The U.S. is still the richest nation overall, but most income goes to the wealthiest, while in Canada it is spread more evenly. That's just jibber-jabber for saying that Canada is basically a socialist state, as opposed to the thriving model of equitable income distribution that we have in the lower forty-eight. The poorest 20% in Canada are also better off than the poorest Americans. Sure, but the top 1% are better off than everyone.

Cuba - Cubans are having trouble finding condoms. I had to read the headline twice to make sure this wasn't another story coming out of Venezuela. Cuba and Venezuela have strengthened economic ties in recent years.  How's that working out for you guys so far? The price of a single condom has risen to $1.30, the average daily wage in Cuba. The state-run wholesaler of condoms blamed the shortage on the need to repackage 1 million condoms that were wrongly labeled as expiring in 2012 but are still good through 2014. Re-packaging condoms? Yeah, that seems like the right way to go.  Again, where I come from, if you mess up something like that, you take your lumps and start over.

Potpourri

• Cost of Living - Between 1989 and 2010, college costs increased by 307%, health care costs by 223% and housing costs by 85%. Over the same period, wages went up by only 70%. I knew it! I knew there was a reason for my increasing bitterness. I'm not getting older, I'm getting poorer.
• Taxes - Roughly 24% of a person's federal taxes are spent on Social Security, 22% on Medicare and Medicaid, and 19% on defense spending. U.S. taxes are among the lowest in the developed world. As a percentage of GDP, U.S. taxes rank 31st in the world, behind those of Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Pay more, get less. I love my country. On another note, if you add the interest on the national debt to the equation, discretionary spending amounts to about 29 cents on the dollar.