What Caught My Eye Today

First things first. Happy Birthday, Dad!

2008 Presidential Campaign - The Associated Press and Yahoo! News conducted an in-depth survey of more than 2,000 people asking which presidential candidate is the most likable? On the Republican side, Giuliani gets the nod, both from GOP voters and among voters overall. None of the Democratic candidates has a clear advantage among Democratic voters, with Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards running about even. But in a sheer popularity contest, pitting the most likable Democrat vs. the best-liked Republican, it would be Obama over Giuliani, 54 percent to 46 percent. Overall, the poll finds, Democrats are weighing personal traits more heavily than policy positions this election season; Republicans are putting greater emphasis on policy. Here are some select results to the question, 'How well does each word describe these candidates:

• Decisive - Clinton: 72% Obama: 55% Edwards: 54% Giulani: 67% Thompson: 38% McCain: 57% They all seem a bit pig-headed to me


• Strong - Clinton: 78% Obama: 61% Edwards: 56% Giulani: 69% Thompson: 43% McCain: 62% They mean mentally strong, right?


• Honest - Clinton: 65% Obama: 64% Edwards: 58% Giulani: 58% Thompson: 46% McCain: 59% Are we sure the respondents understood the question?


• Experienced - Clinton: 76% Obama: 35% Edwards: 57% Giulani: 71% Thompson: 38% McCain: 69% Experienced at what, is my question?


• Ethical - Clinton: 67% Obama: 65% Edwards: 59% Giulani: 54% Thompson: 45% McCain:59% Umm...no comment.

This is all well and good and, frankly, a bit more interesting than most polls that I have seen, but I'm not sure that it means much, after all, the first primaries are still a month and a half away. Although it is a bit surprising that Hilary managed a clean sweep. Here's a survey question I'd like to see--how many voters think the build up to primary season is way too flippin' long?

Space Station - Two spacewalking astronauts wired up the international space station's newest room, Harmony, and kept the next shuttle visit on track for early December. NASA cannot launch another space shuttle until the school bus-size Harmony is all hooked up, inside and out. Atlantis is supposed to blast off Dec. 6 with a European laboratory that will dock to Harmony. One of Harmony's other parking spaces is reserved for a Japanese lab. Click here if you are interested in more information about the International Space Station. This stuff doesn't make the nightly news very often, which I think is a bit of a shame. In this day and age where the headlines are dominated by international strife, it is nice to see at least one international collaboration making some positive progress.

France - Schools closed, flights were delayed, trains again weren't running, and newspapers weren't printed as civil servants joined transport workers in strikes to challenge President Nicolas Sarkozy's program of sweeping reform for France. A defiant Sarkozy said voters gave him a mandate for reform when they elected him in May, adding: "We will not surrender and we will not retreat." Sarkozy was elected on promises to reform France — from its courts to its creaking university system, its army of civil servants to rail workers whose special retirement privileges he vowed to eliminate. I'm a bit confused on this one. On one hand, it sounds like the voters are getting exactly what they asked for. On the other had, it doesn't sound like Sarkozy did a very good job of selling his reforms to the general population. I guess it's just another example of the old cliche, 'Be careful what you ask for. You might just get it."

Iran and Venezuela - Venezuela's outspoken president Hugo Chavez joined with Iran's leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in boasting that they are "united like a single fist" in challenging American influence, saying the fall of the dollar is a sign that "the U.S. empire is coming down." Making his fourth trip to Tehran in two years, Chavez has built a strong bond with Ahmadinejad that has produced a string of business agreements as well as a torrent of rhetoric presenting their two countries as an example of how smaller nations can stand up to the U.S. Chavez has strongly supported Iran's right to have a civilian nuclear program, backing the position of Tehran that its atomic activities are intended solely for the peaceful production of electricity. Chavez has recently said that Venezuela also aims to start a peaceful nuclear energy program. Ahmadinejad backed his "dear brother" Chavez in their joint fight with the Bush administration. Since 2001, the two countries have signed more than 180 trade agreements, worth more than $20 billion in potential investment, according to official reports. Iran has partnered with Venezuela on several industrial projects in the South American nation, including the production of cars, tractors and plastic goods. You know, in a lot of ways, these two are a match made in heaven. Besides, who else wants the headache of dealing with either one of these guys? I'm not sure that this burgeoning friendship should be cause for much concern though. It's hard to say just how well this relationship will hold up if either side starts feeling short changed by the other. After all, it's not like Chavez or Ahmadinejad are the most stable personalities.

Cambodia - The head of the Khmer Rouge's largest and most notorious torture center appeared in court Tuesday in the first public session of the long-delayed U.N.-backed tribunal probing the regime's reign of terror in the 1970s. The 1975-79 Khmer Rouge regime was blamed for the deaths of some 1.7 million people from starvation, disease, overwork and execution. Many have said they feared the surviving Khmer Rouge leaders might die before being brought to justice. The movement's notorious leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998. Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, is charged with crimes against humanity for his role as the head of the regime's infamous Tuol Sleng prison, also called S-21, in Phnom Penh. Up to 16,000 men, women and children were tortured there from 1975-79 and later taken away to be executed at a site outside the capital known as "the killing fields." Only 14 people are thought to have survived. I try to keep abreast of what's going on around the world, but must confess that this whole deal is new to me. It never ceases to amaze me the extent of evil that man is capable of.

Tennis - The world's former number one tennis player was no match for the current champion when they met on court Tuesday for only the second time. In an exhibition match in the South Korean capital, Roger Federer beat Pete Sampras 6-4, 6-3 in a match lasting just 61 minutes. The Swiss ace is at the peak of his powers, lifting his fourth Masters Cup title on Sunday, whereas Sampras retired from the professional game in 2002. Federer admitted he was "tensed up a bit" because he was facing one of his heroes. But once he found his rhythm, the Swiss was off and running. "It was a little tricky situation. I'd been playing well and Pete's been retired for five years," Federer said. "I expected myself to win tonight. Dude, I should hope so. Pete's no slouch, but come on, he's been out of the game for 5 years. I have to assume the motivation for this match up has to do with some major dollar signs for both Federer and Sampras.

And saving the most eagerly anticipated news story of the day for last...

Yachting - The 33rd America's Cup, initially set for 2009 in Spain, could be postponed until 2011. U.S. challenger Oracle have taken Alinghi to court in New York, arguing the Swiss defender set rules for the next edition of sailing's most prestigious race which are unfairly weighted in Alinghi's favor. Holding the event in 2010 would be difficult as it would compete for television air time with the fooball World Cup in South Africa so 2011 would become the most viable year to stage the next race. If the court rules against Alinghi, the Swiss syndicate will not appeal the decision and will accept racing in the catamaran proposed by Oracle. But if Alinghi wins, Oracle is expected to appeal, creating a period of uncertainty for a further one or two years. Alinghi won the 32nd America's Cup, which featured 11 challengers, defeating Emirates Team New Zealand 5-2 in Valencia in a best-of-nine series. Last week Alinghi rejected a compromise solution aimed at ended the dispute that was presented by Oracle and three of the five challengers. The five challengers who have so far signed up for the 33rd edition are: Team Origin of Britain; Team New Zealand; South African syndicate Shosholoza; Desafio Espanol of Spain and United Team Germany. So like is anyone still reading this?

What Caught My Eye Today

I started this blog in late January and began tracking unique visits in mid-July. Yesterday, we got our 100th unique visitor (along with visitors #101 and, #102 ). While my opinions on the news items that I post may not necessarily viewed positively by everyone be assured that no offense is ever intended. I hope you draw some enjoyment from my musings. Whatever your reason for doing so, thanks for reading.

Japan - A Japanese whaling fleet sailing toward waters off Antarctica to kill protected humpback whales was itself the target of a hunt by environmental activists who vowed to disrupt the expedition. Greenpeace said its protest ship Esperanza was searching for the fleet south of Japanese territorial waters and would shadow the ships to the South Pacific to try to reduce their catch. The Japanese fleet was embarking on the country's largest whaling expedition, targeting protected humpbacks for the first time since the 1960s. The whalers plan to kill up to 50 humpbacks in what is believed to be the first large-scale hunt for the once nearly extinct species since a 1963 moratorium in the Southern Pacific put the giant marine mammals under international protection. The mission also aims to take as many as 935 minke whales and up to 50 fin whales in what Japan's Fisheries Agency says is its largest-ever scientific whale hunt. The expedition lasts through April. Japan says it needs to kill the animals in order to conduct research on their reproductive and feeding patterns. While scientific whale hunts are allowed by the International Whaling Commission, critics say Japan is simply using science as a cover for commercial whaling. While this clearly is not winning Japan any friends in the environmentalist community, I don't see any laws being broken. That being said, I have some thoughts to their claims that this is 'scientific research'. First of all, isn't 50 specimens of humpback whales a bit excessive for studying reproductive and feeding patterns (to say nothing of the almost 1000 other specimens that the expedition plans to haul in)? Secondly, couldn't you just tag the whales and watch them from a distance? Surely you can learn more from whales in their natural habitat than you can serving them up as delicacies in the local sushi bar?

Wall Street - Wall Street resumed its slide as Wall Street absorbed a gloomy outlook for the banking sector as well as bleak news from the National Association of Homebuilders. The major stock market indexes each fell more than 1.5 percent, with the Dow Jones industrial average giving up more than 200 points. Concerns about the banking sector dominated the session. Other sectors suffered big hits during the session, including airlines and automakers. Housing stocks also suffered. Don't pull the trigger yet, I'm not finished yet... Broader stock indicators also declined. The S&P 500 index fell 25.47, or 1.75 percent, to 1,433.27, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 43.86, or 1.66 percent, to 2,593.38. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 19.15, or 2.49 percent, to 750.35. The pullback left the Russell firmly in negative territory for the year, with a decline of 4.74 percent. Almost there... The dollar fell against other major currencies, while gold fell. Crude oil futures rose 80 cents to settle at $94.64 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. And finally... Stock markets overseas also slumped. In European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 closed down 2.71 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 1.32 percent, and France's CAC-40 slid 1.65 percent. In Asian trading, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.74 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index decreased 0.56 percent. On the bright side, it's a short trading week. We only have 2 more trading days before Thanksgiving. Yippee.

Air Travel - The weather has been causing delays at several of the nation's airports, creating a rough start to one of the year's busiest air travel weeks. Fog this morning in Atlanta has delayed flights by as much as 30 minutes, while wet weather and wind have been cited for delays in Newark, N.J. and in Philadelphia. The FAA says flights bound for New York's LaGuardia International Airport and Chicago's O'Hare International Airport were experiencing delays of more than an hour. The National Weather Service says steady rain in New York could turn to snow. And meteorologists in the Midwest have been watching weather fronts that could bring an onslaught of snow and cold that could snarl air traffic at O'Hare. To hell with that. Take to the open roads, my friends.

Well, maybe not...

Automotive Travel - According to Bankrate.com, here's a list of some of the biggest budget busters on the market, including tank size and how much it costs to fill an empty tank at $3.50 a gallon (Make and model / Tank size / Cost):

• Chrysler Aspen SUV / 27 gallons / $94.50


• Ford Expedition SUV / 28 gallons / $98.00


• Infiniti QX56 SUV / 28 gallons / $98.00


• Cadillac Escalade ESV SUV / 31 gallons /$108.50


• Chevrolet Suburban SUV / 31 gallons / $108.50


• Chevrolet Avalanche SUV / 31 gallons / $108.50


• Hummer H2 SUV / 32 gallons / $112.00


• Ford Expedition EL SUV / 33.5 gallons / $117.25


• Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD pickup / 34 gallons / $119.00


• Dodge Ram 2500 pickup / 35 gallons / $122.50


• Nissan Titan pickup / 37 gallons / $129.50


• Ford F250 Super Duty pickup / 38 gallons / $133.00

Of course, as the price of gasoline rises, owners of more economical vehicles like the Honda Accord and the Toyota Camry will also get wallet shock. Both cars come with 18.5-gallon gas tanks that would cost $64.75 for a fill-up. Not much that I can add to this, except maybe...DAMN!!! Oh yes, and one other thing--Mom and Dad, I hope you like the card I'll be sending home for the holidays.

What Caught My Eye Today

Bangladesh - The death toll from Bangladesh's most devastating storm in a decade climbed to at least 2,300 and relief officials warned the figure could jump sharply as rescuers reach more isolated areas. The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, the Islamic equivalent of the Red Cross, said that it believed the toll could hit 10,000 once rescuers reach islands off the coast of the low-lying river delta nation. Thanks to an effective early warning system, at least 1.5 million coastal villagers fled to shelters before the storm. Every year, storms batter Bangladesh, a country of 150 million, often killing large numbers of people. The most deadly recent storm was a tornado that leveled 80 villages in northern Bangladesh in 1996, killing 621 people. It's hard to say whether this is a good news or bad news story. On one hand you have such a heartbreaking loss of life, and what's worse, it's seemingly becoming a recurring story year in and year out. On the other hand, you cannot overlook the positive steps made to institute an early warning system that helped move 1.5 million people out of harm's way. Any way you look at it, things could have been a lot worse.

Ukraine - A methane blast ripped through a coal mine in eastern Ukraine early Sunday, killing at least 63 miners in the ex-Soviet nation's worst mining accident in years, emergency officials said. More than 360 miners were rescued but 37 others remained trapped inside the mine — one of Ukraine's largest and deepest — with a raging fire hampering efforts to save them. The accident — the worst in Ukraine in seven years — highlighted the lack of attention to safety in a country with some of the world's most dangerous mines. Experts say Ukraine's mines are dangerous largely because they are so deep, typically running more than 3,280 feet underground. In comparison, most European coal beds lie at a depth of 1,640 to 1,970 feet. Methane is a natural byproduct of mining, and its concentration increases with depth. More than 75 percent of Ukraine's some 200 coal mines are classified as dangerous due to high methane concentrations. Mines must be ventilated to prevent explosions, but some rely on outdated ventilation equipment. Safety violations and negligence add to the problem. It seems like a lifetime ago, but just a few short months ago, the U.S. had its own string of mining incidents. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't seem to recall the government doing anything to address the working conditions of miners in this country. Kind of a dangerous game of chance that's being played here.

Crime - In another blow to the Motor City's tarnished image, Detroit pushed past St. Louis to become the nation's most dangerous city, according to The 14th annual "City Crime Rankings: Crime in Metropolitan America". The report looked at 378 cities with at least 75,000 people based on per-capita rates for homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and auto theft. Each crime category was considered separately and weighted based on its seriousness. Last year's crime leader, St. Louis, fell to No. 2. Another Michigan city, Flint, ranked third, followed by Oakland Calif.; Camden, N.J.; Birmingham, Ala.; North Charleston, S.C.; Memphis, Tenn.; Richmond, Calif.; and Cleveland. The study ranked Mission Viejo, Calif., as the safest U.S. city, followed by Clarkstown, N.Y.; Brick Township, N.J.; Amherst, N.Y.; and Sugar Land, Texas. The study assigns a crime score to each city, with zero representing the national average. Detroit got a score of 407, while St. Louis followed at 406. The score for Mission Viejo, in affluent Orange County, was minus 82. Critics also complain that numbers don't tell the whole story because of differences among cities and the FBI posted a statement on its Web site criticizing such use of its statistics. I'm not going to diss on Detroit...they've got enough problems as it is. Seriously, how much more lousy news do these poor slobs have to endure? That said, what's up with you people in Mission Viejo? You all still have heartbeats, don't you? I applaud you for the low crime rate, but minus 82? Go out and live a little.

U.S. Dollar - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that OPEC's members have expressed interest in converting their cash reserves into a currency other than the depreciating U.S. dollar, which he called a "worthless piece of paper." His comments at the end of a rare summit of OPEC heads of state exposed fissures within the 13-member cartel — especially after U.S. ally Saudi Arabia was reluctant to mention concerns about the falling dollar in the summit's final declaration. Oil is priced in U.S. dollars on the world market, and the currency's depreciation has concerned oil producers because it has contributed to rising crude prices and has eroded the value of their dollar reserves. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez echoed this sentiment on the sidelines of the summit, saying "the empire of the dollar has to end." Iran and Venezuela have proposed trading oil in a basket of currencies to replace the historic link to the dollar, but they had not been able to generate support from enough fellow OPEC members — many of whom, including Saudi Arabia, are staunch U.S. allies. Well, I for one am just shocked, shocked I tell you, that Iran and Venezuela are speaking so ill of the United States. Okay, Ahmadinejad so we're threatening you with annihilation if you continue to pursue a nuclear program, but dude, no hard feelings. Now how about playing nice-nice and no more dissing the greenback, okay. As for you Hugo, what up, dawg? It's not like we told you to shut up or anything. How about showing us a little love, boyfriend?

Sports - Okay, so it's been way too long since my last sports update. Here we go, then...

NASCAR - Matt Kennseth won the final race of the year, and Jeff Gordon finished ahead of Jimmie Johnson, but Johnson clinched his second Nextel Cup championship in a row. Gordon came into the season-ending Ford 400 essentially needing a miracle Sunday to overtake teammate Jimmie Johnson for the Nextel Cup title, and one simply wasn't forthcoming. So Gordon settled for second, 77 points shy of a fifth championship. Gordon topped the NASCAR standings in top-10 finishes by a wide margin, won more poles than anyone else, had more lead-lap finishes than anyone on the circuit, the best average place finish and had a mammoth points lead after the regular season -- leading the standings for 21 straight races along the way. And dude still came in second because his teammate was just a little bit better down the stretch--that and winning four races in a row during the Chase. This is why NASCAR is the best motor sports series in the world. Sorry, Formula One.

Soccer - Houston Dynamo wins the MLS Cup 2-1 over New England. It's Houston's second title in a row. And yet I wonder how many us know that the U.S. has a professional soccer league, much less, giving a flying fig over who won the championship.

Football - Green Bay Packers beat the Carolina Panthers to improve to 9 and 1. Meanwhile, the Miami Dolphins are 0 and 10 after losing to the Philadelphia Eagles. Though the game hasn't been played as of this posting, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that New England will walk out of Buffalo with a 10 and 0 later this evening. Lastly, being a Bay Area native, I have just one question--can the 49ers and Raiders be any worse--with the possible exception of Miami?

College Football - It's like the season where being ranked #1 or #2 is the kiss of death. Kansas was #2 in The Associated Press Top 25 released Sunday behind top-ranked LSU. The Jayhawks moved up two spots this week and Tigers jumped three places after Oregon and Oklahoma both picked up their second losses of the season. Missouri at #3 has its highest ranking since being ranked #1 in 1960. Oregon fell from #2 to #9 after losing 34-24 at unranked Arizona on Thursday night. Oklahoma dropped from #3 to #10 after losing 34-27 Saturday night at unranked Texas Tech. Eleven times this season a top-five team has lost to an unranked opponent. #6 Georgia, #7 Arizona State and #8 Virginia Tech join Oregon and Oklahoma in the top 10. Arizona State (9-1) now controls the Pac-10 race and plays #11 Southern California on Thanksgiving. Unbeaten Hawaii dropped a spot to #14 after a 28-26 victory at Nevada without star quarterback Colt Brennan. The Warriors face #17 Boise State at home Friday night in a game that'll determine the Western Athletic Conference champion and maybe a BCS bid. Did you get all that? Not to worry. Just grab a cold one, the remote and park yourself on the sofa for a great end of the season run.

What Caught My Eye Today

Congress - The House passed landmark legislation banning employment discrimination against homosexuals. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act, passed on a 235-184 volte, wold be the first federal law protecting gays, lesbians and bisexuals against employee discrimination. However, the billl's prospects in the Senate are dim, and President Bush has vowed to veto it if it passes, citing concerns that the bill could spawn extensive litigation and that it tacitly endorses same-sex marriages. Dude, if you are going to veto a bill, be honest about the reason for doing so. It's pretty far-fetched to claim a law protecting against employment discrimination also endorses same sex marriages. Vetoing a bill to placate your Conservation voter base--now that's a lot more believable.

FBI - The FBI has concluded that Blackwater security guards shot and killed 14 Iraqis "without justification" during a September incident in which 17 Iraqis died. The FBI report found that at least 5 Blackwater guards opend fire on a crowd with automatic weapons during a traffic stop in Baghdad. Investigators found no evidence that Iraqi civilians fired at the guards. The findings pose a dilemma for new Attorney General Michael Mukasey, because U.S. law may not cover the actions of private security contractors overseas, making prosecution problematic. I guess, I'm a bit slow, because I don't see the dilemma. During his confirmation hearings, Mukasey made it clear that he would enforce whatever the law told him to. No law, no enforcement. Seems pretty cut and dry to me. Wrong, but cut and dry.

Spain - King Juan Carlos of Spain received a round of applause from Latin Americna leaders this week for telling Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to "shut up." Chavez had annoyed just about everyone at a Madrid summit with his repeated interruptions of Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero. Chavez kept insisting that Zapatero's predecesor was a fascist. King Carlos apparently found Chavez's rudeness and grasp of history tedious. "Why don't you shut up?" he snapped at the leftist Venezuelan leader. Chavez later compare the incident to the persecution of Jesus Christ. Oh yeah, I can so totally see his point. I saw a video of the incident where right after Carlos' remarks, Chavez was nailed to a cross. What a putz. And how about a shout out to King Carlos for showing some moxie. I bet you'd never seen Queen Elizabeth exhibit such a display (but boy, wouldn't that be a sight).

Finland - The Finnish government announced that it would raise the minimum age for buying guns from 15 to 18, in response to a school shooting last week that left 9 people dead. Finland has extrememly loose gun regulation and the third-highest concentraton of fireamrs in the world, after the U.S. and Yemen--but it has little gun crime. Initially the part of this story that got me was that in Finland you could own a gun before you could drive, but that was quickly replace but that little statistic at the end. I love it--the United States, with all of its gun control laws ranks second only to Yemen for firearms. You have to hand it to the gun lobby. Clearly they're doing something right.

Time Management - Payscale.com just launched a new widget called Meeting Mizer to calculate the cost of attending meetings. Using its database of 10 million income profiles from 4,000 companies, it estimates meeting participants' salaries. A user enters the attendees' job titles and the company's regional location, and the electronic meter calculates the cost per second. As it ticks, the meter can also be projected alongside PowerPoint slides.

As a courtesy to my faithful audience, I gave this a trial run. Here's the results from a recent meeting.

Mr Tibbons, the pinhead (department head) - $15/min
Chris, the kiss-ass (eager intern) - $0/min (hey, interns don't get paid)
Gloria, the whiner (project lead) - $10/min
Hank, the pessimist (poor slob doing the work) - $5/min
Chet, the player (jerk supposed to be doing the work) - $5/min
Luis, the disinterested onlooker (janitor) - $.15/min (dude has a schedule to keep; those trash cans don't empty themselves, you know)
Clare, the savior (hot pizza delivery chick) - who knows, but whatever she makes--it's not enough

Meeting duration: 60 minutes
Meeting cost: $2109
Analysis: Given the probability that nothing was actually accomplished in that hour, hopefully the pizza was good.

What Caught My Eye Today

U.S. Military - Soldiers strained by six years at war are deserting their posts at the highest rate since 1980, with the number of Army deserters this year showing an 80 percent increase since the United States invaded Iraq in 2003. The Army defines a deserter as someone who has been absent without leave for longer than 30 days. The soldier is then discharged as a deserter. According to the Army, about nine in every 1,000 soldiers deserted in fiscal year 2007, which ended Sept. 30, compared to nearly seven per 1,000 a year earlier. Overall, 4,698 soldiers deserted this year, compared to 3,301 last year. The increase comes as the Army continues to bear the brunt of the war demands with many soldiers serving repeated, lengthy tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Military leaders have acknowledged that the Army has been stretched nearly to the breaking point by the combat. Efforts are under way to increase the size of the Army and Marine Corps to lessen the burden and give troops more time off between deployments. In military jargon, I'm guessing that 'discharged' pretty much means the same thing as 'fired.' Call me crazy but if I went to work every day and got shot at, getting fired wouldn't seem so bad. Talk about a hostile work environment. I'm kind of surprised the desertion rate isn't higher.

In a related story, we have that juggernaut of efficiency, otherwise known as Congress, trying to solve the nation's problems...

Congress - Senate Republicans blocked a $50 billion bill by Democrats that would have paid for several months of combat but also would have ordered troop withdrawals from Iraq to begin within 30 days. The measure, narrowly passed this week by the House, also would have set a goal of ending combat in December 2008. The 53-45 vote was seven votes short of the 60 needed to advance. It came minutes after the Senate rejected a Republican proposal to pay for the Iraq war with no strings attached. Nearly a year after anti-war voters put them in power, congressional Democrats remain unable to pass legislation ordering troops home from Iraq. Frustrated by Republican roadblocks, Democrats now plan to sit on President Bush's $196 billion request for war spending until next year — pushing the Pentagon toward an accounting nightmare and deepening their conflict with the White House on the war. "We're going to continue to do the right thing for the American people by having limited accountability for the president and not a blank check," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Here's how the Democratic Leadership came up with this latest strategy...

Harry Reid (HR): It's just not fair. We have the majority, but those puss wads [Republicans] won't let us do anything.
Nancy Pelosi (NP): There, there, little man...I mean, Harry. It's not as bad as you make it sound.
HR: Yes it is (whimper-whimper). I'm the majority leader but I don't get to do anything because of those stupid fart heads.
NP: Oh dear. So here's what you're going to do. We all know that the war mongers...I mean Republicans, cannot carry out their little ware without money. We just won't give it to them.
HR: (sniff-sniff) But we tried that. Bush has vetoed every bill that we sent him. He's a poo-poo face.
NP: Harry, listen to me (you little twit), he cannot veto a bill if we don't send him one.
HR: I don't get it.
NP: Harry, dear. If we don't send the President a bill, then no money goes to the Pentagon. No more money, no more war. Get it?
HR: (long pause)
HR: Oh, I get it. If we take the money away, they can't play war anymore.
NP: Something like that, yes.

Pakistan - President Gen. Pervez Musharraf faces a stern warning from Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte: end emergency rule or wreck landmark elections and risk undermining vital U.S. support. Musharraf made concessions ahead of Negroponte's visit allowing independent TV news back on the air and freeing opposition leaders and a respected U.N. rights expert. But he also pushed ahead with plans for parliamentary elections in January. Under domestic pressure for relying too heavily on Musharraf, Washington appears increasingly exasperated with a man that President Bush has long defended as a stalwart ally against international terrorism. U.S. officials are keen to avoid the embarrassment of dropping a man whose authoritarian rule they have long defended because of his help in Afghanistan and against al-Qaida, but also had to be seen to stand up for democracy. Yes sir, Mr. President, way to pick a head of state that stands for the same values that we do. If I get this straight, we've been supporting Musharraf because he is a valued ally in the war on terror. Just out of curiosity, any sign of Osama bin Laden?

Baseball - Even in the off-season, baseball is in the news. Though nothing new, really. Let's see here. The Yankees are getting ready to sign A-Rod to another obscene contract--$275 million over 10 years. And Barry Bonds, still indicted...still looking guilt as hell...still not caring what anyone thinks.

What Caught My Eye Today

Iran - A report from the U.N nuclear watchdog agency found Iran to be generally truthful about key aspects of its nuclear history, but it warned that its knowledge of Tehran's present atomic work was shrinking. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) focused on the history of Iran's black-market procurements and past development of its enrichment technology — and the agency appeared to be giving Tehran a pass on that issue, repeatedly saying it concludes that "Iran's statements are consistent with ... information available to the agency." The IAEA report also confirmed that Tehran continued to defy the U.N. Security Council by ignoring its repeated demands to freeze uranium enrichment, a potential pathway to nuclear arms. So here's what we have in a nutshell. The agency has concluded that Iran is 'generally' telling the truth about the small amount of information it has to disclose, but that Iran continues to enriched uranium. Gee, what an enlightening summary of that which we already know.

Pakistan - Police said they lifted the house arrest of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, hours before the arrival of a senior U.S. envoy who was expected to urge the country's military leader to end emergency rule. Despite Bhutto's call, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has given no sign he will hand over power. He has named his own interim prime minister and is expected to announce a caretaker Cabinet to oversee parliamentary elections promised by Jan. 9. This just in...Tomorrow, Bhutto will be placed under house arrest again to align with the government's plan to release her the following day.

Bangladesh - Thousands of coastal homes have been levelled and trees uprooted as a powerful cyclone batters Bangladesh. Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated or sought safe shelter before the storm hit the coast, but there are fears for those left behind. The cyclone is packing winds of up to 150mph and driving rain. The cyclone made landfall in an area of mangrove forests known as the Sundarbans - a world heritage site and home to rare royal Bengal tigers. The hope was that the trees there would absorb most of the storm's strength but communities along the whole coast, including several large cities. So they based their hopes on a bunch of trees to absorb the brunt of a cyclone? Yeah, maybe that wasn't such a good plan.

Baseball - Baseball home-run king Barry Bonds used steroids to fuel his success and then lied about it, prosecutors said in charging him with perjury and obstruction of justice. "During the criminal investigation, evidence was obtained including positive tests for the presence of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing substances for Bonds and other professional athletes," the indictment said. The all-time Major League baseball home run king has long been under federal probe over suspicion that he lied to the BALCO grand jury in 2003 when he told them he never knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs. Despite his huge success on the field, his abrasive personality and the lingering doubts about steroid use, kept him from gaining widespread personal popularity, especially outside San Francisco. Is this the part where we are supposed to act all shocked and surprised? I'm not saying what the dude allegedly did was right, but how many of those critics out there weren't glued to the TV screen when Bonds broke the single season home run record or when he eclipsed Hank Aaron's all-time home run record? Barry gave the people what they wanted. Sure he did it by taking illegal steroids, but now we're just splitting hairs.

Lindsay Lohan - Actress Lindsay Lohan checked in and out of jail today, spending just 84 minutes behind bars for a drunken driving and cocaine-possession conviction. Lohan, 21, had been sentenced in August to one day in jail after admitting guilt to drink and drug charges and was told by the court to serve her time before January. Lohan was also sentenced to 10 days of community service, three years probation and 18 months of an alcohol-education program.

If you think this sounds like a familiar pattern among Hollywood's elite starlets, you would be correct.

Jail sentences for minor crimes are often cut short by Los Angeles sheriffs, who manage the county jails, because of overcrowding. In August actress Nicole Richie of "The Simple Life" spent one hour, 20 minutes in jail for what was a four-day sentence for driving under the influence of drugs. In July, a media frenzy surrounded socialite Paris Hilton's three-week stint behind bars for a driving violation. Hilton had been sentenced to 45 days, was released after three days, and then sent back after an outcry over perceived preferential treatment.

Let's see. With Paris off saving the elephants in Africa, Britney losing her mind and custody of her kids, and now Lindsay having been 'scared straight' by hard time, I guess it's time for Nicole Richie to do something stupid again. Though, for my money, I'm going with Britney--she's on sort of a roll.

Obesity - I heard about this last item in a related story on NPR. The fat acceptance movement, also the fat liberation movement, is a grassroots effort to change societal attitudes towards individuals who are fat. The movement consists today of a diverse group of people, who have different beliefs about how best to address the perceived widespread prejudice and discrimination against fat people in contemporary Western societies.

Wait there's more...

Fat activism covers several fronts but generally can be described as attempting to change societal, internal, and medical attitudes about fat people. The movement argues that fat people are targets of hatred and discrimination, with fat women in particular subject to more social pressure. Hatred is seen in multiple places including media outlets, where fat people are often ridiculed or held up as objects of pity. Discrimination comes in the form of lack of equal accessibility to transportation and employment. There's even an association dedicated to the cause... The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, or NAAFA, was founded in 1969 by William Fabrey in New York. It is the most active and best-known fat liberation organization in the United States. Any group is entitled to form a special interest group to advocate its cause, so I say, have at it. Though here's a group that I wouldn't mind seeing formed. It's called the, "International Coalition of Can't We All Just Get Along So We Don't Have To Create All These Stupid Special Interest Groups."

What Caught My Eye Today

Chile - A major earthquake crushed cars, damaged hundreds of houses and terrified people for hundreds of miles around. Authorities reported at least two deaths and more than 100 injuries. The quake shook the Chilean capital 780 miles to the south of the epicenter, and was felt as far away as the other side of the continent — in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1,400 miles to the east. The U.S. Geological Survey calculated the magnitude at 7.7. It was followed by several aftershocks, including three larger than magnitude 5. The quake occurred in one of the most seismically active regions in the world, where the Nazca tectonic plate is shoving itself beneath the South American plate. Scientists in Chile and the United States were trying to determine why such an intense quake apparently did not cause more damage. Honestly, guys how about you thank your lucky stars that it wasn't worse. My goodness.

Congress - House Democrats defiantly pushed ahead with a $50 billion war spending bill that calls for troops to leave Iraq, despite concerns raised by some party members and a veto threat issued by the White House. The bill would require that the U.S. initiate troop withdrawals within 30 days of its passage and agree to the goal of bringing home most soldiers and Marines by Dec. 15, 2008. It is largely a symbolic jab at President Bush, who already has ordered some troop withdrawals from Iraq in coming weeks but opposes a Congressionally mandated timetable. Yes, yes, I know. How about some Congressional news that we haven't heard before. I'm coming to that part. Similar legislation has passed repeatedly along party lines in the House only to sink in the Senate, where Democrats hold a razor-thin majority and 60 votes are needed to overcome procedural hurdles. Wait for it...Wait for it...Okay here it is... It is expected that if the measure fails in the Senate, Democrats will not consider Bush's war spending request until next year. Democrats say the military won't need the money until early next year. Until then, the Pentagon can transfer money from less urgent accounts or fourth quarter spending to cover costs, they say. The Pentagon says moving money around is a bureaucratic nightmare that costs more in the long run. And if taken to the extreme, the military would eventually have to freeze contracts or lay off civilian workers to ensure troops in combat have what they need. Okay, so now we finally have Congress messing with the Pentagon's purse strings without technically withholding money for the troops. For this Congress, that is rather clever. Let's see if it forces Bush's hand.

2008 Presidential Campaign - Barack Obama, who's been scolding Hillary Rodham Clinton for not hastening the release of records from her time as first lady, says he can't step up and produce his own records from his days in the Illinois state Senate. He says he hasn't got any. "I don't have — I don't maintain — a file of eight years of work in the state Senate because I didn't have the resources available to maintain those kinds of records," he said. Obama's statement that he has no papers from his time in the Illinois statehouse — he left in 2004 — stands in stark contrast to the massive Clinton file stored at the National Archives: an estimated 78 million pages of documents, plus 20 million e-mail messages, packed into 36,000 boxes. While any file from Obama's time in the state Senate would be far smaller, the idea that no papers exist at all is questioned by some historians. No you all aren't imagining anything. I, too, can smell the load of crap Obama is shoveling. If I didn't know better I'd say that Obama's strategy to blast Clinton's reluctance to disclose records is about to blow up in his face.

Catholic Bishops - Roman Catholic voters and lawmakers must heed church teaching on issues ranging from racism to abortion or risk their eternal salvation, U.S. Conference of Bishops said. The bishops didn't recommend specific policies or candidates in the 2008 election, and emphasized that "principled debate" is needed to decide what bests promotes the common good. But they warned Catholics that their votes for politicians and laws affect more than just civic life. "Political choices faced by citizens have an impact on general peace and prosperity and also may affect the individual's salvation," the bishops said. The bishops said that voting for a candidate specifically because he or she supports "an intrinsic evil, such as abortion or racism" amounts to "formal cooperation in grave evil." Any they wonder why there is a decline in Catholics in the United States. Let me ask you something, your Excellencies (I checked, this is the proper etiquette)? Does the concept of 'separation between church and state' mean that little to you that you've stooped to damning us Catholics to hell if we vote our consciences rather than how Catholic doctrine tells us to vote. This is why I'm one of those disenfranchised Catholics that Church is wondering how to bring back into the fold.

And finally...

Television - TV Icons - Here are the the top 20 TV icons as determined by TV Land and Entertainment Weekly magazine (along with select commentary from yours truly):

20. CARROLL O'CONNOR - One of the all time most beloved bigots--Archie Bunker. You da man
19. ANDY GRIFFITH - One assume this is for his role as Sheriff Andy Taylor...not Matlock
18. WILLIAM SHATNER - This has got to be for his role as TJ Hooker. That Star Trek role was nothing.
17. BOB NEWHART - Good actor, great comedian.
16. DAVID LETTERMAN
15. NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME PLAYERS - Dude, pick a character not the whole flipping cast.
14. ED SULLIVAN - Anyone imitated as much as him, has to be good.
13. JACKIE GLEASON
12. DICK VAN DYKE
11. ROSEANNE BARR - Good actor, horrible everything else.
10. DICK CLARK - New Years Eve wouldn't be the same without him.
9. HOMER SIMPSON
8. JERRY SEINFELD
7. MARY TYLER MOORE
6. CAROL BURNETT
5. WALTER CRONKITE - And that's the way it is...
4. BILL COSBY - Double kudos for Fat Albert and the Huxtables. But dude, those sweaters--what up with that?
3. OPRAH WINFREY
2. LUCILLE BALL
1. JOHNNY CARSON - No argument from me.

What Caught My Eye Today

War on Terror -The economic costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are estimated to total $1.6 trillion — roughly double the amount the White House has requested thus far, according to a new report by Democrats on Congress' Joint Economic Committee. The report attempted to put a price tag on the two conflicts, including "hidden" costs such as interest payments on the money borrowed to pay for the wars, lost investment, the expense of long-term health care for injured veterans and the cost of oil market disruptions.The Bush administration has requested $804 billion for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined, the report stated. Future economic costs would be even greater. The report estimated that both wars would cost $3.5 trillion between 2003 and 2017. Under that scenario, it would cost a family of four $46,400. The report, from the committee's Democratic majority, was not vetted with Republican members. My problem with this sort of report is that you can pretty much apply any assumptions you want to produce the outcome you are looking for. Plus, what does this report--valid or not--tell us that we don't already know? I don't think there is anyone, the President included, that doesn't agree that this has been a costly endeavor. The real question is, what are we going to do know? Nothing in this report seems to suggest an answer.

UK - Gordon Brown has said Britain's "most important" relationship is with the US, in his first major foreign policy speech since becoming prime minister. He warned that he had "no truck with anti-Americanism" and said the EU should strengthen ties with the US. Mr Brown also called for more "hard-head internationalism" in peacekeeping, aid and reconstruction. The speech followed reports that Mr Brown was keen not too appear as close to President Bush as his predecessor, Tony Blair. Has anyone noticed the recent show of goodwill to the U.S. by newly elected European leaders? First German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, then newly elected French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, and now British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. I'm not saying there is anything wrong, but it is a bit curious. A couple of years ago, Europe was lining up to criticize the U.S. Now we have newly elected officials singing the praises of the U.S. It is kind of hard to believe that these countries' electorates had a sudden change of heart about the U.S. and voted in U.S. friendly leaders.

San Francisco - A harbor pilot under investigation in San Francisco Bay's biggest oil spill in two decades initially believed the damage to his ship was minor, radioing that the vessel had just "touched" the Bay Bridge. In fact, last week's collision ripped a gash in the fuel tank of the Hong Kong-based Cosco Busan, unleashing 58,000 gallons of thick, toxic fuel oil that was still being cleaned up. The spill, initially reported at just 140 gallons, ended up being hundreds of times worse. The collision caused no structural damage to the bridge, but the fuel has fouled miles of coast, closed nearly two dozen beaches and piers and killed dozens of seabirds. More than 12,000 gallons of oil had been recovered by Monday, but much of it never will be, the Coast Guard said. Some will evaporate or dissipate and be absorbed into the environment. The oil spill was the biggest since 1988, when 400,000 gallons of oil spilled after a Shell refinery drain line broke. Another spill in 1996 poured 40,000 gallons of oil into the bay from a military vessel near Pier 70. The problem with 'touching' as the pilot so eloquently understated is that when you are talking about a really big boat mixing it up with a really big bridge, that 'touching' is likely to inflict some serious damage on something. Frankly, I'm surprised the boat didn't sink right on the spot.

In the spirit of the old saying 'things could always be worse,' sadly we have another incident that makes the oil spill in San Francisco almost insignificantly by comparison.

Black Sea - A fierce storm in the Black Sea sank at least five ships on Sunday, killing at least three sailors and causing a massive oil spill that could lead to severe environmental damage. A powerful storm that has hit the Sea of Azov and parts of the Black Sea since Sunday has sunk about 10 ships, and the large quantities of oil and chemicals that have leaked from the ships have caused fears of an environmental disaster in the area. One ship alone spilled 560,000 gallons into the Black Sea when it split in two. At least three sailors have died and 20 sailors are missing. 35 crew members from the stricken vessels were rescued. Soldiers and emergency workers from Russia and Ukraine are working hard to clean up the oil spill that has reportedly killed some 30,000 birds. When you look at a incident like this, you have to appreciate how fortunate the Bay Area was that it didn't suffer more damage than it did.

Air Travel - In the annals of excess, it could be a new high: a more than $300 million, super-sized luxury airplane, bought and outfitted solely for the private comfort of a Saudi Arabian billionaire. Once done, the Airbus A380, the world's biggest passenger plane, will be a "flying palace" for Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the manufacturer announced. Airbus would not give a specific price tag for the VIP double-decker jet, with its football field-length wings, saying only that it would cost more than the aircraft's list price of $320 million. That doesn't even include the money the prince will spend to custom fit the nearly 6,000-square foot plane to include whatever he wants. The options include private bedrooms, a movie theater or even a gym with a jacuzzi. He'll also need a flight crew of about 15 to operate the luxury liner. As a member of the Saudi royal family, he benefits from the country's vast oil wealth. But much of bin Talal's huge fortune comes from his investment firm, the $25-billion Kingdom Holding Co., which has stakes in Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., Fairmont Raffles Hotels International Inc., Time Warner Inc., Apple Inc., PepsiCo Inc., Walt Disney Co. to name a few major corporations. The prince, who is in his early 50s, appears to have a taste for super-sized jumbo jets. He already is the only private owner of a Boeing 747-400. Okay, this is going to totally sound like sour grapes, but I have to say it. This guy is totally compensating for having a small wee-wee. What other possible explanation could there be. For crying out loud, an A380 and a 747? Gimme a break. If you have too much cash on your hands, how about kicking some of it in for a good cause like say world peace...or maybe my retirement fund?

What Caught My Eye Today

Pakistan - Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was placed under house arrest for the second time in four days to prevent her staging a march to protest emergency rule. The showdown intensified the political crisis engulfing Pakistan and further clouded the prospect of a pro-U.S. alliance against rising Islamic extremism forming between Bhutto and President Gen. Pervez Musharraf. The protest caravan was intended meant to pressure Musharraf to end the state of emergency he imposed on Nov. 3 and give up his post as army chief. It had been expected to take about three days, and Bhutto's party said thousands of supporters were expected to join en route. Oh, for heaven's sake, make up your minds already, will you? Either lock the broad up or let her speak her peace. I, for one, don't see how a demonstration contributes to the terrorist activity that this 'state of emergency' is suppose to combat, but then again, I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed either.

Iraq - The first big test of security gains linked to the U.S. troop buildup in Iraq is at hand. The military has started to reverse the 30,000-strong troop increase and commanders are hoping the drop in insurgent and sectarian violence in recent months won't prove fleeting. The current total of 20 combat brigades is shrinking to 19 as the 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, operating in volatile Diyala province, leaves. Between January and July — on a schedule not yet made public — the force is to shrink further to 15 brigades. The total number of U.S. troops will likely go from 167,000 now to 140,000-145,000 by July. As the U.S. troop reductions proceed, it should become clear whether the so-called "surge" strategy that increased the U.S. troop presence in and around Baghdad resulted in any lasting gains against sectarianism. Critics note that the divided government in Baghdad has made few, if any, strides toward political reconciliation that the Americans have said is crucial to stabilizing the country. What I find fascinating about this story is that this was inevitable from the start. The surge had no way of lasting longer, because we had no more troops left to staff it. Bush isn't giving in to the 'will of the people'. He didn't have any other choice.

Pope - Pope Benedict XVI will travel to the United States for the first time as pontiff next year to meet with President Bush, address the United Nations and visit ground zero. The announcement comes as the 67 million-member American church is grappling with a priest shortage and an often alienated flock, and is still recovering from the clergy sex abuse crisis. American dioceses have paid more than $2 billion in settlements with victims since 1950. Benedict has dedicated his pontificate to fighting secularism and strengthening Catholic faith, and his visit reflects those priorities. I'll say this for the man. He'll have plenty to choose from. Those Americans are just a bunch of sex-crazed, drugged-addicted, war mongers. My perspective is that if I'm a lost soul and going to Hell anyway, I might as well go with good reason.

Finally, two more entries from the 'so bizarre it must be true' file...

Air Travel - Passengers aboard a Sri Lankan Airlines flight from London to Colombo rebelled and refused to let the plane take off because it was missing a 5-foot section of wing--sheared off in an accident the previous day. Airline officials insisted that the plane could have flown safely, explaining that the tips of the wings "are purely for aerodynamics." So like, what type of aerodynamics, do you think they were referring to? I'm thinking the ones involved in keeping the plane airborne would be rather important. And another thing, what was the pilot's involvement in all this? I would question the competence of anyone willing to fly an aircraft with part of a wing missing.

Drought - University of Georgia advised fans attending a recent football game not to flush "if it's yellow", due to a severe drought afflicting the Southeast. Bathroom attendants were given the job of deciding when it was absolutely necessary to pull the toilets' handles. Eww. Here's what I want to know. Who comes up with the criteria for when its 'absolutely necessary' to flush? Are there parameters or is it strictly a judgment call? And, seriously, how many bathroom attendants are going to relish the notion that flush inspections have been added to their job doodies, I mean duties (sorry, I couldn't resist).

What Caught My Eye Today

Afghanistan - Six U.S. troops were killed when insurgents ambushed their foot patrol in the high mountains of eastern Afghanistan. The attack, the most lethal against American forces this year, made 2007 the deadliest for U.S. troops in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion. The six deaths brings the total number of U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan this year to at least 101, according to a count by the AP. That makes this year the deadliest for Americans here since the 2001 invasion, a war initially launched to oust Taliban and al-Qaida fighters after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, but one that has evolved into an increasingly bloody counterinsurgency campaign. It is a bit eerie that on the eve of Veteran's day, the casualty counts in both Iraq and Afghanistan have hit annual highs. Just another reminder of the sacrifices that our armed forces continue to make on a daily basis to protect those of us at home. Regardless of your opinion of the politics involved, take a moment this weekend to reflect upon the valiant efforts of our troops both at home and abroad. Stay safe, guys and gals.

Nuclear Weapons - Members of Congress have warned about the dangers of suitcase nuclear weapons. Hollywood has made television shows and movies about them. Even the Federal Emergency Management Agency has alerted Americans to a threat — information the White House includes on its Web site. But government experts and intelligence officials say such a threat gets vastly more attention than it deserves. These officials said a true suitcase nuke would be highly complex to produce, require significant upkeep and cost a small fortune. Why don't the assurances of 'government experts and intelligence officials' make me feel any safer? I'm sure they said the same thing about the possibility of someone crashing a commercial aircraft into a skyscraper. Look how that turned out.

Economy - Full disclosure: I ripped this one off from The Onion (published earlier this week). These guys are hysterical.

While speaking to a group of White House reporters, President Bush fended off questions about the weak state of the dollar, the expected long-term deficit caused by Social Security and Medicare payments, and a faltering housing market by assuring reporters that the U.S. economy's ability to have such a widespread negative impact on the world only further proves it is "easily the best."

"Our recent credit crisis alone has been enough to depress share prices in Japan, Rome, China, and Brazil," a smirking Bush said during a press conference Thursday.

"Sounds to me like our economy is still pretty powerful." Bush later added that he was equally proud of the impact U.S. foreign policy has had over the past six years, adding that only a truly great president could be capable of fostering so much hatred across the globe.

What makes this so funny is that there's a good chance that Bush could have made these sorts of remarks. Thankfully, this time around, it was just a really good satire from the comically gifted minds who publish The Onion.

India - Here's another entry from the 'so bizarre it must be true' file...

Delhi's Deputy Mayor fell to his death last week after being attacked by monkeys. The Indian capital is suffering from a plague of Rhesus macaques, whose natural habitat has been shrinking as urban sprawl claims the nearby forests. The 'monkey menace' is particularly hard to combat because many Hindus, who believe monkeys to be the manifestations of the monkey god Hanuman, feed the animals; that encourages them to hang around urban areas and beg. Some become aggressive, but they can't be killed because of their religious significance. Nor has relocating monkeys to rural areas or wildlife sanctuaries been successful, as they tend to find their way back. As is so often the case, with stories like this, I again find myself at a loss for words. I wonder if the U.S. State Department plans to issue a travel advisory to would-be American visitors to Delhi.

Cars - This is an obituary of sorts for a car that I never would have thought would achieve icon status. Clearly, I'm wrong.

The Ford Crown Victoria is an American institution: a big, comfortable, gas-guzzling sedan that has become the workhorse for major urban police departments and cab companies. But with retail sales down 90% since 2000, the Crown Vic--a favorite of car buffs--might soon become a nostalgia piece. Ford will stop selling it to the public next year, and pretty soon it might vanish from the street altogether. The automaker expects to sell 50,000 units to the government this year, mostly for use in law enforcement, but the Police Interceptor model has been losing market share in the last few years to the Chevy Impala and Dodge Charger; both of which are faster than the Crown Vic. The car's future as a cab is also grim. Of the 4,000 units sold to cab companies, 3,500 end up in New York City. However, cities are increasingly moving to hybrid fleets to cut air pollution. Truth be told, I don't know that I've ever been in a Crown Vic. So far, I have successfully evaded law enforcement officials, and most of my recent cab rides have been in minivans or Impalas. Maybe Ford needs to license a John Mellencamp song to promote the Crown Vic.

What Caught My Eye Today

Pakistan - I'm having a hard time keeping up with all the developments going on over there. Here's my best shot at the latest happenings...

Pakistan quickly ended house arrest for opposition leader Benazir Bhutto on Friday as President Gen. Pervez Musharraf came under new U.S. pressure to end a crackdown that Washington fears is hurting the fight against Islamic extremism. Earlier in the day, police threw up barbed wire around Bhutto's house to keep her from speaking at a rally to protest Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule. As Musharraf's chief international backer, the Bush administration is deeply concerned about the deteriorating situation in Pakistan, a nuclear-armed nation of 160 million people that is on the front lines of the U.S.-led campaign against terrorist groups. The suspension of the constitution last weekend has intensified the anger of moderate and secular Pakistanis who have become increasingly frustrated with military rule. At the same time, Islamic militants with ties to the Taliban and al-Qaida are stepping up violence, including suicide bombings and fighting in the northwest along the border with Afghanistan. Perhaps you are familiar with this old saying..."With friends like this, who needs enemies?" What does it say about the United States, when we have to try to overlook all this nonsense because Pakistan is the best ally we have in that region of the world to assist in curbing terrorism?

Congress - I love the headline on this next story. It reads, "Dems question latest anti-war strategy." Yeah, no kidding. It's not like this is the first time.

Rank-and-file Democrats expressed dismay over their party's latest anti-war strategy, with some members reluctant to vote around Veterans Day to bring troops home. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed off plans for vote today after caucus members told her late yesterday they weren't sure they would support it. Liberal Democrats said the proposal was too soft, while conservative members told Pelosi they thought it went too far. Pelosi told reporters that she was confident the measure would pass. Based on what, honey? From what I can see, you guys cannot reach consensus on anything. You know why you guys are so pissed at Bush? It's not because he's having his way with you; it's that you are letting Bush have his way with you.

Army - The Army is spending $2.6 billion on hundreds of European-designed helicopters for homeland security and disaster relief that turn out to have a crucial flaw: They aren't safe to fly on hot days. During flight tests in Southern California in mild, 80-degree weather, cockpit temperatures in the UH-72A Lakota soared above 104, the point at which the Army says the communication, navigation and flight control systems can overheat and shut down. The Lakota represents the Army's first major effort to adapt commercially available helicopters for military use. Air conditioning is standard in commercial versions of the aircraft, which have not had overheating problems. But the military usually avoids air conditioning in military aircraft to reduce weight and increase performance. I suppose in a different day and age, this might have surprised or even angered me. Not anymore. Nevertheless, did it not occur to someone in the procurement process that there was the remote possibility that these helicopters may be called upon for service in regions of the world where it the mercury occasionally exceeds 80 degrees? You know, I bet they did. I bet you the Pentagon came up with a contigency for just this sort of circumstance--something along the lines of this, I imagine--'From now on, all those wishing to do harm to the United States or any of the allies that we care about shall do so only in cool weather climates.'

Stock Market - Stocks fell for a third session today and more weakness in technology shares helped send the Nasdaq down to its biggest weekly point loss since the September 11, 2001, attacks. For the week, the Nasdaq lost 6.5 percent -- or 182 points. The Dow dropped 4.1 percent and the S&P 500 declined 3.7 percent. That's cool. I'm planning to die of natural or unnatural causes long before I have to worry about retiring--so I'm not particularly concerned about my nest egg imploding before my very eyes.

What Caught My Eye Today

Iraq - Under pressure to support the troops but end the war, House Democrats said they would send President Bush $50 billion for combat operations on the condition that he begin withdrawing troops from Iraq. The proposal, similar to one Bush vetoed earlier this year, would identify a goal of ending combat entirely by December 2008. It would require that troops spend as much time at home as they do in combat, as well as effectively ban harsh interrogation techniques like waterboarding. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had hoped the House would vote as early as tomorrow on the bill. But late today, after meeting with liberal Democrats who were concerned the bill was too soft, she decided to put off debate until next week. No, your minds are playing tricks on you and no I'm not copying previous posts because I have run out of fresh material. Sadly, the Democratic leadership seems to think that if it passes the exact same legislation has the President vetoed a couple of months ago, that the results with be different this time. Of course they have failed to garner any Republican support, but sure, things will turn out better this time, won't they?

North Korea - Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned that Japan and its neighbors must do more to confront security problems in Asia, calling it one of the "last places on earth with the potential for a nuclear confrontation." It will take more than one or two countries to overcome the threats from North Korea and nuclear proliferation, Gates said. The Japanese have expressed concerns about the possibility that North Korea may eventually be taken off the U.S. list of countries that support terrorism, but Gates stressed the United States' continued commitment to Asia. So here's what I'm thinking Gates wanted to say..."Okay, listen up. We're stuck with this Iraq mess and really want to bomb the piss out of Iran. I'm pretty sure the American people won't let us fight three wars at the same time. So its up to you guys to either get North Korea to roll over and play dead or trump up some charges that the United Nations will believe. That way we can get a coalition of the suckered, I mean willing, to go in and take care of business."

Pakistan - President Gen. Pervez Musharraf yielded to pressure from the United States on Thursday and said Pakistan will hold parliamentary elections by mid-February, just a month later than originally planned. But the military leader showed no sign of letting up on his political foes, reportedly arresting more than 800 supporters of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. The White House hailed its ally's election pledge, but Bhutto denounced his announcement as "vague" and demanded Musharraf give up his second post as army chief within a week.

Check this out, I managed to get a wiretap on the White House and heard part of the conversation between Bush and Musharraf...

Bush: Okay Mustafa, here's what you're gonna do.
Musharraf: It's Musharraf.
Bush: Yeah, whatever. See you can't be President and commander of the Army. It's just no good. It sends a bad message to the American people.
Musharraf: What about what's best for my people?
Bush: You're not listening, Mustafa. You can't have both. Pick one or I'll withhold your aid package.
Musharraf: Aren't you President and commander-in-chief of your armed forces? Why can't I do the same thing.
Bush: This ain't about me, Mustafa.


Tennis - Here are a couple of items you wouldn't normally expect to see in what I used to think was an elegant, upper class sport...

Czech tennis player Jan Hernych says he was approached in Russia last year and asked to lose first-round matches at ATP tournaments in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The matches allegedly involved were against Italy's Filippo Volandri at the Kremlin Cup and against Russia's Evgeny Korolev at the St. Petersburg Open. Hernych won both matches.He said he was not offered a specific sum of money. Online gambling company Betfair voided all bets when fourth-ranked Nikolay Davydenko withdrew against 87th-ranked Martin Vassallo Arguello in the third set of a match in Poland in August, citing a foot injury. Unusually large amounts were wagered on the lowly ranked Argentine throughout the match, even after he lost the first set 6-1. The ATP is investigating. Since then, several players have said they have been approached about influencing a match.

And if you think that is bizarre, check this one out...

The International Tennis Federation is investigating allegations that Tommy Haas was poisoned before Germany's Davis Cup match against Russia. Haas was forced out of his match against Mikhail Youzhny with a suspected stomach virus. Russia won both reverse singles matches on Sept. 23 to win the semifinal series 3-2 and reach the Davis Cup final. German teammate Alexander Waske said he was told by a Russian who manages numerous athletes that it was poisoning, not a virus. Waske didn't say who the manager was.

I can see the punchline already..."I went to see a payoff in the alley and a tennis match broke out."

What Caught My Eye Today

Space Shuttle - Discovery and its crew returned to Earth on Wednesday and concluded a 15-day space station build and repair mission that was among the most challenging in shuttle history. The seven shuttle astronauts and three residents of the international space station teamed up during the docked mission to save a mangled solar wing. It was one of the most difficult and dangerous repairs ever attempted in orbit. The astronauts knew they were in for one of the most challenging and complicated space station construction missions ever. They had no trouble installing a pressurized compartment named Harmony and moving a girder from one side of the space station to another, and even managed to peek into a clogged joint needed to turn the right-sided set of solar wings. But the flight took a dramatic turn Oct. 30 when it came time to unfurl the solar wings on the relocated girder on the left side of the space station. The first wing popped out fine, but the second one became snagged in a clump of tangled wires and ripped in two places. Flight controllers rushed to come up with a repair plan. Astronaut Scott Parazynski floated outside with wire cutters, pliers and some homemade tools and fixed the torn wing. No one had ever ventured so far from the safe confines of the space station before or worked right up against a solar wing coursing with more than 100 volts of electricity and swaying back and forth. He was propped on the end of a 90-foot extension beam that just barely reached the wing's damaged section. The repair allows the space agency to press ahead with the next shuttle flight to the space station in early December. Atlantis will deliver a European laboratory. Okay, so maybe I'm a closet space geek, but you have to admit--they guess are pretty cool. How many times have you tried to repair something and messed up all up? Big deal, you go to the hardware store or call in the handyman. These guys didn't have that option. One misstep and we're talking billions of dollars down the toilet.

Iran - Iran has reached a milestone in its nuclear program, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday, suggesting that the country now has 3,000 uranium-enriching centrifuges fully operating. "We have now reached 3,000 machines," Ahmadinejad said. An official with knowledge of Iran's nuclear activities said that Iran does now have nearly 3,000 centrifuges operating at Natanz. But that official said it would take years for all the centrifuges to run smoothly without frequent breakdowns. The number 3,000 is the commonly accepted figure for a nuclear enrichment program that is past the experimental stage and can be used as a platform for a full industrial-scale program that could churn out enough enriched material for dozens of nuclear weapons, should Iran chose to go the route. Mr. President, admittedly I am an infidel and a citizen of the Great Satan, so I don't expect you to necessary heed this little tidbit of advice, but calling centrifuges, 'machines,' pretty much makes you sound like an imbicile. If it sounds like a centrifuge, looks like a centrifuge and produces enriched uranium like a centrifuge, you might as well call it a centrifuge. I'm just saying.

Pakistan - President Bush, personally intervening in the political crisis in Pakistan, told President Pervez Musharraf he must hold parliamentary elections soon and step down as army leader. Musharraf, who has been promising to restore democracy since seizing power in a 1999 coup, has ousted independent-minded judges, put a stranglehold on the media and has put thousands of Pakistanis in jail or under house arrest since assuming emergency powers last weekend. Musharraf said his decisions to suspend the constitution and oust its top judge were necessary to prevent a takeover by Islamic extremists. It was Bush's first contact with Musharraf since he declared emergency rule on Saturday and granted sweeping powers to authorities to crush political dissent. For days, the White House has faced questions about why Bush was taking a softer line on Pakistan than he did, for instance, against Myanmar where military rulers cracked down on pro-democracy protesters in September. I was wondering when someone was going to bring up Myanmar. See, I have a slightly different theory (gee, what a surprise). I'm thinking that if Pakistan was all buddy-buddy with the likes of China, Bush might be applying the same tactics as he did in Myanmar...basically nothing.

2008 Presidential Campaign - Televangelist Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition, endorsed Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani. The former New York mayor backs abortion rights and gay rights, positions that put him in conflict with conservative GOP orthodoxy, and has been trying to persuade evangelical conservatives like Robertson to overlook their differences on those issues. Giuliani is best known for leading New York in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Shortly after 9/11, Robertson released a statement in which he said the attacks occurred because Americans had insulted God and lost the protection of heaven by allowing abortion and "rampant Internet pornography." Talk about a match made in heaven. I so want to know what horse-trading (or arm-twisting) went on behind closed doors, to make this happen. How much do you want to bet that Giuliani had to be talked into this by his campaign staff? I just don't see this guy voluntarily soliciting Robertson's support.

Stock Market - Wall Street suffered its second big drop in a week today, with investors worried about spreading fallout from the credit crisis at banks and about a dollar that just keeps getting weaker. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 360 points. Meanwhile, the dollar swooned amid speculation that China will seek to diversify some of its foreign currency stockpiles beyond the greenback and General Motors Corp. further dampened sentiment by posting a record loss tied to an accounting adjustment. Oil hit a record, rising above $98 per barrel before retreating, and gold pushed higher, moves exacerbated by an anemic dollar. This just in...Prices on handguns and bullets in the Manhattan area have shot up as demand for self-inflicted gunshot wounds among white collar professionals has spiked to levels not seen since the Great Depression. Alright, maybe that is a bit dramatic, but honestly, how much depressing news do we have to be subjected to in one article?

What Caught My Eye Today

For those of you keeping count, this is posting #200.

Congress - The House approved what could become the first override of a President Bush veto Tuesday, with Republicans joining Democrats in challenging the president over a $23.2 billion water resources bill that addresses pressing infrastructure needs while offering hundreds of home district projects. The vote was 361-54, well over the two-thirds majority needed to negate a presidential veto. The Senate, which approved the bill 81-12 in September, could cast its override vote as early as Wednesday. Bush did not veto a single bill during the first five years of his presidency, when Congress was mainly in GOP hands. He has since vetoed a stem cell research bill twice, an Iraq spending bill that set guidelines for troop withdrawal and a children's health insurance bill. He vetoed the Water Resources Development Act, or WRDA, on Nov. 2, saying it was too expensive. The few critics pointed out that the Army Corps now has a backlog of $58 billion worth of projects and an annual budget of only about $2 billion to address them. Alright, then. First things, first. Well done, guys. You may actually get a piece of legislation enacted. Better late then never. As for the critics of this bill, all I can say is can I have some of whatever you dudes are smoking? By your own admission, there is a backlog of $58 billion of projects. Yet your solution to the problem is to withhold money so that the backlog doesn't get any bigger. What a great idea. Let's just let our whole infrastructure collapse. That way we won't have anything left to pay taxes to fit. Good plan...you ninnies.

Iraq - The U.S. military announced six new deaths today, making 2007 the bloodiest year for American troops in Iraq despite a recent decline in casualties and a sharp drop in roadside bombings that Washington links to Iran. With nearly two months left in the year, the annual toll is now 853 — three more than the previous worst of 850 in 2004. In fairness, the majority of these came earlier in the year and recent months have seen a dramatic downturn in casualties. Still rather sobering numbers, no matter how you look at it.

Pakistan - Pakistani opposition parties will discuss how to overturn emergency rule, hoping to capitalize on international disapproval over the detention of growing numbers of lawyers and political opponents. Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, in her strongest comments since President Pervez Musharraf assumed emergency powers on Saturday, said the world must make Pakistan's military leader revoke his measures or tell him to quit. The United States and Britain were joined by the 27-nation European Union in urging Musharraf to release all political detainees, including members of the judiciary, relax media curbs, and seek reconciliation with political opponents. Washington has said it will review aid to Pakistan, which has reached nearly $10 billion since the Sept 11 attacks. But it has yet to come up with a clear stance for dealing with a nuclear-armed country which is on the frontline in the battle against al Qaeda and the Taliban. Well, duh. That's because Washington doesn't know what to do. Talk about a PR nightmare. Here we are sending billions of dollars in aid to Pakistan for the war on terror, relying on Musharraf to spend the money wisely, while at the same time he's turning himself into a dictator. One has to wonder, how the masterminds in the State Department didn't see this one coming.

Pope - Pope Benedict and Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah held a historic meeting on Tuesday and discussed the situation of minority Christians in the Islamic country where the Vatican wants them to have more freedom. At the first meeting between a Pope and a Saudi monarch, the two also discussed the need for greater collaboration between Christians, Muslims and Jews and prospects for a Middle East peace. The Vatican wants greater rights for the 1 million Catholics who live in Saudi Arabia, most of them migrant workers who are not allowed to practice their religion in public. Vatican officials often ask why church construction is banned in Saudi Arabia while Muslims can build mosques in Europe. Good question. Sounds like a bit of a double standard to me. Then again, what sane Catholic would want to live in a devout Muslim country in the first place? I'm not saying its right, but reality is what it is.

Space Shuttle - Discovery's astronauts got their spaceship ready for the ride home wrapping up a 15-day mission that kept the crew far busier than planned. This 15-day mission is longer than most — and more stressful, too, with the astronauts required to carry out repairs to a torn solar energy panel at the space station. After leaving the space station yesterday, the astronauts used a laser- and camera-tipped boom to hunt for possible micrometeorite damage to the shuttle's wing and nose that might have occurred during the 11 days the shuttle was docked to the orbiting outpost. Shuttle Atlantis, meanwhile, is being prepped for launch as early as Dec. 6. It is set to deliver a new European laboratory called Columbus to the space station. Please, please, please, let this be a sign that NASA has finally sorted out its issues with debris damaging the space shuttle. These guys finally have some momentum and have a chance to finish building the International Space Station. If you have one, maybe you can rub your lucky rabbit's foot, horseshoe, or any other good luck charm that you have on NASA's behalf. They've had a long year.

What Caught My Eye Today

Let me begin by saying this is my favorite weekend of the year. Why you ask? Because is it the only weekend in the entire year that last 49 hours. That's right folks, Day Light Savings is over tonight. Don't forget to roll those clocks back a hour.

Federal Government - Just when you think the government cannot stoop any lower... The Federal Emergency Management Agency admitted that it staged a press conference on the Southern California wildfires last week, with FEMA employees posing as reporters. The agency had called the press conference with only 15 minutes' notice. When no reporters showed up at FEMA's Washington press room, stand-ins from the agency took their place. After the ruse was publicized, FEMA's public affairs chief resigned. Here's the thing. How many of us are really surprised at FEMA's antics any more. After the Hurricane Katrina fiasco, it was clear that this agency is managed by a bunch of half wits.

White House - This one scares the piss out of me. Earlier this year, the White House quietly issued National Security Presidential Directive 51, to ensure 'continuity of government' in the vente of what the document very vaguely calls a 'catastrophic emergency.' The directive, issued without any review by Congress or the Supreme Court, gives the president authority to decide when an emergency has occurred, and to do whatever he deems necessary to ensure continuity of government, whether it's to cancel upcoming elections, suspend the Constitution, or launch a nuclear attack on the enemy. Oh, where to begin on this one. Just out of curiosity, Mr. President, is the concept of checks and balances completely foreign to you or do you just not care? While we're on the subject, Bush has decided to give himself the power to suspend the Constitution? I was under the mistaken impression that the Constitution existed to prevent this sort of thing from happening.

Vatican - Pope Benedict XVI said that Catholic pharmacists should refuse to dispense drugs intended for controception, abortion or euthanasia. The issue has been attraction attention worldwide since the U.S. licensing of the 'morning after pill,' which can prevent implantation of a fertilized egg. In Chile, the government has threatened to shut down pharmacies that won't dispense the drug. A few U.S. states allow pharmacists to refuse to dispense drugs because of religious conviction. First of all, let me say that I am a Catholic--just not a very good one. I suppose the Pope is entitled to say what he wants, what with being infallible and all, but this treads on dangerous ground. Let's say that pharmacists do as the Pope says. What next? What happens if the Pope decides that AIDS medication shouldn't be dispensed to gays, because homosexuality is immoral?

Utah - This next item just goes to show that not all self-righteous whack jobs live in the Bible Belt. A state liquor official in Utah is calling for restaurants that serve alcohol to cover up the bottles because "some may be offended at the sight of alcohol." State law in the heavily Mormon state already mandates that bartenders work behind a glass partition. I'm all for freedom of religious belief, but let's not forget that these folks who are up in arms about booze practice the same religion that not too long ago looked the other way when it came to polygamy.

Airport Security - Security screeners at two major U.S. airports failed to detect fake bombs carried by undercover agents more than 60% of the time. At Chicago's O'Hare airport, screeners missed 60% of the bombs, while those at Los Angeles International missed the bombs in 75% of the tests. The head of the Transportation Security Administration said the results were somewhat misleading becaus the test have become increasingly difficult. Oh well, if that's the case, I guess there is no problem. That is, of course, assuming that would-be bombers are complete morons and try to get through security with easily identifiable bombs. What gets me is getting through security still takes forever and a day. What is it that these TSA agents are doing? From what I can gather from these tests, they aren't doing that great of a job keeping explosive devices from getting through.

What Caught My Eye Today

International Space Station - One of NASA's most experienced spacewalkers, will face grave risks and nerve-wracking challenges when he is scheduled to fix a damaged solar panel on the International Space Station. As astronauts inside the station issued commands to unfold the panel this past Sunday, a guide wire snagged. Before the unfurling could be stopped, the panel had two rips, a broken hinge and snarled wires. NASA engineers, who did not think this could happen, have been working around the clock to stitch together a repair method. If the astronaut can't fix the panel, the rip could grow, rendering the panel useless. Without the power the panel is supposed to generate, NASA would have to halt further construction on the station, including the addition of laboratories scheduled for December and April. The plan calls for the astronaut to ride a jury-rigged work crane out to the damaged section, which is out of sight of his crewmates inside the station. There he'll try to smooth the wires, either by untangling them or by cutting them. He'll thread metal strips that NASA has nicknamed "the cuff links" through holes in the panel to splint the tears and restore the panel's strength. I don't want to trivialize the danger of this repair, but I cannot help but think this is like that old joke, 'how many guys does it take to screw in a light bulb?'. At any rate, it looks like dude has his work cut out for him. Looks like he'll be earning his supper.

Mexico - Hundreds of thousands of Mexicans fled a flooded region of the Gulf coast Friday, jumping from rooftops into rescue helicopters, scrambling into boats or swimming out through murky brown water. A week of heavy rains caused rivers to overflow, drowning at least 80% of the oil-rich area. Much of the Tabasco state capital, looked like New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, with water reaching to second-story rooftops and desperate people awaiting rescue. At least one death was reported and nearly all services, including drinking water and public transportation, were shut down. The flood affected more than 900,000 people in the state of 2 million — their homes flooded, damaged or cut off by high water. One can only hope that the Mexican government responds to this disaster better than we did in New Orleans. And what is it with the number 900,000? If I remember correctly, about the same number of folks in California were impacted by the wildfires last week. Kind of an eerie coincidence, don't you think?

South Africa - A former employee of Oprah Winfrey's school for disadvantaged girls in South Africa has been arrested on charges of abuse and sexual assault. The school announced Oct. 17 that a dormitory matron had been suspended amid allegations of serious misconduct. Local media recently reported that Winfrey made a tearful apology to parents and pupils in a meeting at the school. The media reports said the woman is accused of physically abusing pupils and fondling at least one of them. Winfrey opened her Leadership Academy for Girls outside Johannesburg on Jan. 2, with celebrities like Tina Turner and Spike Lee in attendance, as well as former President Nelson Mandela. The lavish $40 million school was the fulfillment of a promise she made to Mandela six years ago and aims to give 152 girls from deprived backgrounds a quality education in a country where schools are struggling to overcome the legacy of apartheid. The thing that pisses me off about this is that no one is going to remember all the good things that this school is doing for this region. Instead, all the attention is focus on this one individual who victimized these innocent children. There is an old adage that old bad act can erase ten good ones. Sad but unfortunately true.

Fashion - I apologize in advance but, whenever I see 'wedgie' in the headline, I cannot resist. Wedgie-proof underwear earned 8-year-old twin boys a spot on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." Using rigged boxers and fabric fasteners to hold together some seams, the boys came up with the "Rip Away 1000." The third graders began brainstorming one day after they were horsing around, giving each other the treatment. Their mother's partner sarcastically said someone ought to invent wedgie-proof underwear, the family said. Oh you may laugh now, but just you wait and see. These two enterprising entrepreneurs probably just hit the jackpot.

Tennis - Martina Hingis revealed she tested positive for cocaine at Wimbledon, proclaimed her innocence and retired from tennis for a second time — all in one fell swoop. It was a swift and stunning end to a career highlighted by five Grand Slam singles titles and a rise to the top of the rankings at 16, the youngest No. 1 ever. Hingis tested positive June 29, the day she was upset in straight sets by Laura Granville of the United States in the third round at Wimbledon. "I find this accusation so horrendous, so monstrous," the 27-year-old Hingis' statement said, "that I have decided to confront it head-on by talking to the press." She decided not to the doping case, saying it could drag on for too long. Assuming that Hingis is innocent (Now now, quit scoffing. It's unlikely, but possible) the irony would be priceless. Up to this point you have a bunch of athletes who continue to proclaim their innocence despite a preponderance of evidence to the contrary, but now, you have Hingis throwing in the towel after one rather suspect drug test. Innocent or not, it appears that Hingis recognizes the futility in attempting to clear her name this late in her career. Still, I'd be curious to see how the test came back positive for cocaine.

Baseball - Barry Bonds said he would boycott Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame if officials went along with plans to display his record-setting home run ball with an asterisk. Bonds' record-setting 756th home run ball was recently purchased by fashion designer Mark Echo who then asked baseball fans to vote on what to do with the ball. The fans voted to place an asterisk on it before shipping it to the Hall of Fame for display. "I don't think you can put an asterisk on the game of baseball, and I don't think the Hall of Fame can accept an asterisk," Bonds said. "You can't give people the right to change history." Barry, you know you are my boy, but dude, lighten up.

What Caught My Eye Today

Capitol Hill - Boy, was it chock full of political rhetoric today. Not to worry, thought, nothing was accomplished. Here are some of the highlights from today's posturing:

A defiant Democratic-controlled Congress voted to provide health insurance to an additional 4 million lower-income children, and President Bush vowed swiftly to cast his second straight veto on the issue. The legislation cleared the Senate on a vote of 64-30. It passed the House last week, but supporters were shy of the two-thirds majority needed to override Bush's threatened veto. In a situation of unusual political complexity, Republicans dictated the decision to pass the legislation speedily. It appeared their goal was to short-circuit attempts by supporters of the bill to reach a compromise that could attract enough votes in the House to override Bush's veto. Maybe the Democrats have a strategy of their own that goes something like this--If we keep sending bills to Bush that he vetoes, maybe he'll get writer's cramp; then we'll get him real good.

President Bush compared Congress' Democratic leaders Thursday to people who ignored the rise of Lenin and Hitler early in the last century, saying "the world paid a terrible price" then and risks similar consequences for inaction today. Bush argued the current debate over the Iraq war and the administration's anti-terror methods hearkens back to debates decades ago over resisting action when Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin first talked about launching a communist revolution, when Adolf Hitler began moves to establish an "Aryan superstate" in Germany, and in the early days of the Cold War when some advocated accommodation of the Soviet Union. I agree with the President. Let's throw out all the principles that we stand for and that our troops have spilled blood to preserve in order to get the guys that threaten our way of life. Seems to me that if the President gets his way, so do the terrorists.

And finally...

President Bush sought to save Michael Mukasey's troubled nomination for attorney general, defending the retired judge's refusal to say whether he considers waterboarding torture and warning of a leaderless Justice Department if Democrats don't confirm him. "If the Senate Judiciary Committee were to block Judge Mukasey on these grounds, they would set a new standard for confirmation that could not be met by any responsible nominee for attorney general. That would guarantee that America would have no attorney general during this time of war," Bush said. Uh, not exactly, Mr. President. I think what the Committee is trying to do is to get an answer from the dude who would become the nation's chief law enforcement officer on whether or not waterboarding is torture or not. Saying this is not a reasonable question because he's not familiar with the law regarding torture doesn't really give me a warm and fuzzy. We all agree that the war on terror is of tantamount importance, so how could it be that a nominee for Attorney General is not knowledgeable about such matters. It's not like this is the first time waterboarding has come up in conversation. Gimme a break.

Caribbean - Tropical Storm Noel drenched the Bahamas and Cuba while rescue workers in the Dominican Republic headed out in boats and helicopters to reach dozens of communities isolated by floods and mudslides. The death toll in the Caribbean rose to 107. Noel became the deadliest storm of the Atlantic region this year. Hurricane Felix, a devastating Category 5 storm, killed 101 people when it lashed the Caribbean and slammed into the Nicaraguan and Honduran coasts in early September. Noel's center is accelerating through the Bahamas, according to U.S. forecasters. It was moving north-northeast at roughly 14 mph, and maximum sustained winds were near 65 mph. Over the next 24 hours, Noel is expected to become an extratropical storm, which gets its energy from the collision of warm and cold fronts, not the steamy ocean waters that tropical systems feed on. We were so close to making it through the end of hurricane season, and then this. Here's a little shout out to the fine folks in the Caribbean--and I met a fair few of them last week. You would be hard pressed to find a friendlier group of people anywhere else in the world. All the best to you.

Jobs - The Center for Economic and Policy Research and the Center for Social Policy at the University of Massachusetts has release this year's list of worst jobs:

1. Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop -- 87.0% of jobs categorized as 'bad'


2. Counter attendants, cafeteria, food concession, and coffee shop -- 87.0%


3. Ushers, lobby attendants, and ticket takers -- 85.4%


4. Fabric and apparel patternmakers -- 82.2%


5. Lifeguards and other protective-service workers -- 81.6%


6. Waiters and waitresses -- 80.4%


7. Tour and travel guides -- 79.4%


8. Models, demonstrators, and product promoters -- 79.2%


9. Dishwashers -- 78.8%


10. Motion picture projectionists -- 78.1%

Two things caught my attention on this list. First, do you notice how most of these jobs are in the service industry? No wonder service sucks so much. Second, I don't know about you, but there are way too many food service positions on this list. You all may want to think twice before yelling at your server or stiffing them on the tip. You may be sorry later.