At the End of the Day - Super Tuesday Edition, February 5, 2007

Well! It appears that the two strongest presidential candidates that have run for the Democratic nomination in ages have fought to a draw tonight. Hillary Clinton took the big states, and Obama took several smaller states, many with surprising margins. The only certainty to come out of this is the secure knowledge that the populace is fired up and ready to throw the current cabal out on their collective kiester.

Now, for the news...

The BBC is reporting that the southern regions of Afghanistan will have a bumper-crop of opium poppies. I guess that it isn't enough to screw up shooting wars, the Bush administration has to go ahead and decisively lose the (utterly ridiculous) war on drugs.

Doom & gloom on the economic front: The Dow tumbled about 3% on Tuesday, following a severe contraction of the service sector, and a warning by Standard & Poors that they might cut banks credit ratings. The fallout reached across the globe and Asian stocks plummeted on Wednesday. The Nikkei dropped four percent.

Repair ships arrived in the Mediterranean to repair cables that provide the internet service to the Middle East and India. Four cables were cut in the span of just a few days, and it's a mystery what happened to them.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who introduced trancendental meditation to the west and served as a spiritual advisor to the Beatles has died at his home in the Netherlands. His age was uncertain, but he is believed to have been in his 90's.

As Pakistan gets ready for parliamentary elections on February 18th, the country seems resigned to the fact that widespread vote-rigging will simply be a given, and Nawaz Sharif is not only not campaigning, he has has left the country.

Bush has nominated Lt. General Raymond Odierno for a fourth star and the position of vice chief of staff, which would put him in charge of the Army's day-to-day operations. Congress must approve the promotion. Here is hoping he doesn't face a cake-walk. I will take this opportunity to do a bit of crystal-ball gazing: Between November of this year and the end of February next year, the services will see a massive exodus of O-6 and above officers. Too many have been too worthless, and the sooner they shuffle off to San Diego and Tucson, the better off the military I have loved my entire life will be. General Yingling has a nice ring to it...

And finally - while America was absorbed with election returns, tornadoes ripped through Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee, leaving destruction in their wake and nineteen dead. If you are a person of faith, you might think about beseeching your deity on behalf of those affected.

[That's all - no more after the jump]