Blue Crab Boulevard

Unfortunately for the Clinton Campaign, the long night I predicted has been cut short. Or maybe it's fortunate that their misery is minimized. Obama has won Wisconsin in a blowout by what looks to be about a 60-40 margin. Wisconsin should have been a Clinton state at least according to the conventional wisdom and the state's demographics.

Clinton has been betting on taking Texas and Ohio. I suspect that is a bad bet at this point.

CNN is calling Wisconsin for McCain. While they are not yet calling the Democratic race, they say that exit polling indicates that Obama is ahead there. Other sites right now are predicting an Obama blowout.

(CNN) — Sen. John McCain will win Wisconsin's Republican primary, CNN projects.

As polls closed, it was too early to call the Democratic race between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Exit polls show Obama ahead.

"I will fight every moment of every day in this campaign to make sure Americans are not deceived by an eloquent but empty call for change," McCain told supporters — in what appeared to be a dig at Obama.

McCain has increasingly targeted Obama as the Illinois senator has emerged as the front-runner in the Democratic race.

"Our purpose is to keep this blessed country free, safe, prosperous and proud," McCain said.

McCain is the presumptive nominee for his party, but he must pick up 1,191 delegates to seal the nomination.

CNN reports that Huckabee is not dropping out even now. On the other race, a huge margin for Obama would seriously damage Clinton and just about stop her in her tracks while Obama's momentum might become unstoppable. It is going to be a long night for the Clinton campaign. 

No, not a sequel to Sleepless in Seattle. Moose are invading residential areas in Spokane, Washington in search of food. CNN has a video (hopefully the link works properly). There are reportedly dozens of moose sightings each day. Why? Well, I rather suspect it might have something to do with this map. The snowfall totals in the area are running better than 150% of average:

The moose are probably having great difficulty finding food in their normal haunts and are moving to where they can move about to find food.

Make body armor out of them. A firefighter was spared a bullet wound when a ricocheting bullet was stopped by a DVD he had in his pocket.

WALTERBORO, S.C. - A South Carolina man is thankful for a DVD that ended up taking a bullet for him. Colleton County Fire and Rescue Director Barry McRoy says he was leaving a Waffle House restaurant in Walterboro on Saturday morning when two men ran in fighting over a gun. Police say a bullet hit one of the struggling men, shattered a window and then hit McRoy.

The bullet hit a DVD McRoy was carrying in his pocket. He suffered a bruise but didn't realize he had been shot. As he told a police officer what happened he noticed a bullet hole in his jacket, the shattered DVD case and a piece of the bullet.

"I was saved by a DVD," McRoy says. "How lucky can you get?"

The only thing that would make this story even better is if the movie on the DVD was Bulletproof. Alas, it was not, it was a program about fire extinguishers. Dang.

Algeria is trying to force Russia into taking back 15 new MiG-29 fighter aircraft due to serious flaws in the aircraft. They have also stopped delivery of the other 19 aircraft that were initially ordered. It seems that the Russian arms industry has a bit of trouble producing quality weapon systems lately, because others are also complaining.

MOSCOW - Algeria has demanded that Moscow take back several MiG fighter jets supplied under a major arms deal because of quality concerns, dealing a painful blow to Russian pride, news reports said Tuesday.

The effort to return the planes, which is expected to top the agenda of visiting Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's talks Tuesday in the Kremlin, could tarnish Russia's reputation as a reliable supplier and damage its hopes to expand its niche in the world's arms market.

"The return of the planes would be unprecedented for Russia," said Alexander Khramchikhin, a senior researcher at the Moscow-based Institute for Political and Military Analysis.

Algeria said it wanted to return the first 15 MiG-29 fighter jets supplied last year and refused to take the remaining aircraft under a $1.3 billion contract, Russian news reports said. The 2006 deal envisaged the delivery of 34 MiG-29s in 2007-2008.

Algerian officials said the planes had some old and substandard parts. After months of talks, Russian and Algerian officials reached a deal last week on details of their return, the business daily Kommersant said. It said penalties and other aspects of the issue had yet to be worked out.

India is embroiled in a fight with a Russian shipyard over the overhaul of an aircraft carrier. Russia is taking hit on this kind of problem with increasing frequency, apparently.  

Just a reminder that the last total lunar eclipse until 2010 will occur tomorrow night and will be visible over North America, weather permitting.

LOS ANGELES - The last total lunar eclipse until 2010 occurs Wednesday night, with cameo appearances by Saturn and the bright star Regulus on either side of the veiled full moon.

Skywatchers viewing through a telescope will have the added treat of seeing Saturn's handsome rings.

Weather permitting, the total eclipse can be seen from North and South America. People in Europe and Africa will be able to see it high in the sky before dawn on Thursday.

As the moonlight dims — it won't go totally dark — Saturn and Regulus will pop out and sandwich the moon. Regulus is the brightest star in the constellation Leo.

Jack Horkheimer, host of the PBS show "Star Gazer," called the event "the moon, the lord of the rings and heart of the lion eclipse."

Wednesday's event will be the last total lunar eclipse until Dec. 20, 2010. Last year there were two.

Best viewing should start around 10 pm EST. Sadly, much of the United States will be overcast as more winter weather sweeps across the country. Good luck, folks.  

On February 19, 1942 Japanese aircraft attacked the Australian port city of Darwin for the first time. Some 243 civilians and military personnel died in the attacks. The city's air defenses were virtually nonexistent and the Japanese bombers and fighters inflicted heavy damage, sinking a total of eight ships in the crowded harbor. More attacks followed continuing until November 1943.

During World War II, the Japanese flew sixty-four raids on Darwin and thirty-three raids on other targets in Northern Australia.

From the first raid on 19 February 1942 until the last on 12 November 1943, Australia and its allies lost about 900 people, 77 aircraft and several ships. Many military and civilian facilities were destroyed. The Japanese lost about 131 aircraft in total during the attacks.

While, at the time, there were many rumours alluding to the Australian government's suppression of information about the bombings, the Australian War Memorial's Principal Historian, Dr Peter Stanley, explains that while reports of casualties were intentionally diminished to maintain national morale, at no time was information actually suppressed. Read the transcript of Dr Peter Stanley's Remembering 1942 talk about the bombing of Darwin on the Australian War Memorial website.

Not much is mentioned about these attacks here in the United States, even though two American ships were sunk in the attacks of February 19. Three years to the day after the attacks, American forces began the invasion of Iwo Jima.

Despite a ban on importing the Asian snakehead fish into the country, a British angler has caught one of the predators in a river there. A two foot long one, in fact.

A savage fish deadlier than a piranha that has killed people has been caught on British shores for the first time.

The giant snakehead - so called because of its long body and fearsome teeth - was caught by an angler in Lincolnshire.

Dubbed the "gangster" of the fish world, it eats everything it comes across and has even been reported to kill people.

The monster, which is from south-east Asia, can also "crawl" on land and survive out of water for up to four days.

It already has a fearsome predatory reputation in other parts of the world.

In the U.S., the fish has been described as a "FrankenFish" and "like something out of a horror film".

Andy Alder, from Lincoln, caught a 2ft snakehead while using a sprat as bait for pike on the River Witham near North Hykeham.

He said: "It had a gob full of razor-sharp teeth. To be honest it looked terrifying."

Anglers and conservationists are panic-stricken after its discovery in Britain.

An Environment Agency source said: “The reaction was, 'Oh s***'. This is the ultimate invasive species — if it starts breeding here it's a disaster."

Ben Weir, of the fishing magazine Angler's Mail, said: "In all my time of working within fishing I have never heard so many concerned voices.

"These guys are the real deal and have attacked humans whilst protecting their young. 

I don't believe I have ever heard of a fish protecting its young. That sounds more than a little sensationalist. Here's the Wikipedia entry on snakeheads. They are actually considered a valuable food species in many areas. That is not to say that it is a good thing they have been found where they shouldn't be. Importing exotic "pets" should be frowned on, especially when they are potentially dangerous to native species, as the snakehead is.

Cuban dictator Fidel Castro has formally stepped down as president of Cuba as of this morning.

HAVANA, Cuba (CNN)  — Fidel Castro announced his resignation as president of Cuba and commander in chief of Cuba's military Tuesday, according to a letter published in the state-run newspaper, Granma.

The resignation ends nearly a half-century of iron-fisted rule that inspired revolutionaries but frustrated 10 U.S. presidents.

Castro revealed his plans without notice by publishing a letter in the middle of the night in state-run newspaper Granma.

"I will not aspire to, nor will I accept the position of president of the council of state and commander in chief," Castro wrote. "I wish only to fight as a soldier of ideas. … Perhaps my voice will be heard."

President Bush said Castro's decision ought to spark "a democratic transition" for Cuba.

"The international community should work with the Cuban people to begin to build institutions that are necessary for democracy and eventually this transition ought to lead to free and fair elections," Bush said Tuesday in Rwanda. "The United States will help the people of Cuba realize the blessings of liberty." 

Unfortunately, it does not look like any changes will be made in Cuba for some time. Raul Castro is firmly in place as the next dictator. Val Prieto at Babalu Blog agrees that nothing changes. 

Cuba's prisons are still rife with prisoners of conscience. Ordinary Cuban's are still subjected to Cuba's system of apartheid. Dissidents are still being round up and harrassed. The UN Declaration on Human Rights remains taboo on the island.

There is going to be much ado about new "freedoms" in Cuba and "changes" in policy and what not. Some are going to point to these as proof of raul's willingness for change. But, you know what? True freedom can't come piecemeal. The few crumbs this "new and improved" castro regime will toss down to the Cuban people will do little to stay any true hunger for liberty.

The day there is real change in Cuba - and not a carefully choreographed one - will be the day when every single Cuban on the island is allowed to know who Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet is. When every Cuban is allowed to know exactly and truthfully why he, and so many like him, have been rotting away in putrid jail cells for years.

For fifty years, the Cuban people have been physically, mentally, spiritually, ideologically, culturally and emotionally emasculated. Today's news is just another snip in a surreptitiously planned and meticulously orchestrated surgery.

Some will want to use this non-change as a reason to ease up on Cuba - that would be the wrong move. Until the jails are emptied and the Cuban people are really free, there is no reason to make any accommodations with Castro's hand picked successor. None at all. 

Toshiba moved very quickly to cut its losses and has withdrawn the HD DVD format from the market. Sony's Blu-Ray has won the format war.

TOKYO — Toshiba said Tuesday it will no longer develop, make or market HD DVD players and recorders, handing a victory to rival Blu-ray disc technology in the format battle for next-generation video.

"We concluded that a swift decision would be best," Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida told reporters at his company's Tokyo offices.

The move would make Blu-ray _ backed by Sony Corp., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., which makes Panasonic brand products, and five major Hollywood movie studios _ the winner in the battle over high-definition DVD formatting that began several years ago.

Nishida said last month's decision by Warner Bros. Entertainment to release movie discs only in the Blu-ray format made the move inevitable.

"That had tremendous impact," he said. "If we had continued, that would have created problems for consumers, and we simply had no chance to win."  

That was amazingly fast. Smart move by Toshiba to just get it over with rather than dragging things out.