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Tis Monday evening, the 3rd of October and this is ... News Watch. Twas a lovely weekend here in Boston and foliage season is right around the corner. Summer is dead and buried and Fall is raging like a teenager's hormones. Hope you all are enjoying it as I am.
In this edition of NW, we first unveil a "News Watch In-House Announcement" that will have ramifications on binnallofamerica.com as a whole. From there we dig in to the usual NW goodness with Hot 5 from the Debris Field, including a new Pangaea, Google and NASA working together, the Lima Prison pageant, a Bohemian Grove whistleblower, and a fluff piece on James Van Praagh. Future News Now looks at more evidence for an upcoming draft. That's Entertainment takes a gander at TV shows on DVD. My Fandom : Year 2 sees the Red Sox headed to the playoffs following this weekend's epic battle with the hated Yankees. Noory Story Showdown Scores and an editorial on the changes at the Supreme Court.
And now ... this week's News Watch ...
News Watch In-House Announcement
I suppose now is as good a time as any to unveil the announcement with regards to News Watch. After spending about a month considering the options, BoA has decided that starting this week, News Watch will now be an "every other week" column for binnallofamerica.com. Therefore, after this week, the next NW will be on 10.17.5.
The reasons behind this are quite simple, the workload @ BoA has just gotten to be too hectic to continue this pace. Between recording and editing the weekly episodes of BoA : Audio, then producing the cult sensation that is "Saturday Night Punnett", along with the mothership "binnall report" and the infamous "Hot Newz", there is precious little time to do much else. We also want to be able to give you the best of binnall and company, and not a "throw away" weekly that is rushed because of short time prior to deadline. So, in essence, the move is being done to provide more quality content for binnallofamerica.com readers.
By freeing up two Mondays a month @ BoA, we hope to produce more Feature Articles and such. The first such "Feature Article" will be on 10.10.5 and it is ... "20 Guests C2C Needs : Revisted". I'll be looking back at the landmark BoA Feature Article "20 Guests C2C Needs" (posted 1 year ago today, ironically enough). We'll be examining who made it onto the show and who didn't. In 3 weeks time, we will roll out the new annual tradition : "2005's 20 Guests C2C Needs".
So there you have it. News Watch goes to "every other week". More Feature Articles coming. Noory Story Showdown Scores will still be tallied and posted on Mondays, though. Feel free to contact binnall with your thoughts on this move, should it stir any within you.
Hot 5 Stories from The Debris Field
The links are straight from Lesley's blog The Debris Field. The commentary is pure binnall.
1>Earth's moving continents to collide into one super-mainland in billion years (pravda)
http://english.pravda.ru/science/19/94/377/16208_continent.html
Yes ! The return of Pangaea. My life will finally be complete. I always thought the world would have worked better as one large land mass and longed for such a day. Now I will only have to wait another billion years.
Sadly, the article is a jambled mishmash of esoterica and not really a full examination of what Pangaea II would mean to mankind. Eh, what do you expect from Pravda ?
Vladimir Trunitsyn came up with a new concept. According to him, continents act as governors in a heat engine. Temperature at the earth's surface (~3000 Kelvin) is considerably lower than the melting point of the mantle matter (~17000 K). That is why the continents can be likened to icebreakers navigating through the ice field that changes all the time. "Ice" that is temporarily stuck to the sides of the continents equals the ocean's lithosphere in the passive outskirts of the continents. In the meantime, "ice" that covers the bottom is the continental lithosphere. Unlike ice (ice is lighter than water), heavy ocean lithosphere does not sit in the active outskirts of the continents. It slides down under the continents. The heat flow coming from the mantle through the continents is weaker by 3 times than that blowing across the oceans. That is why the floating continents fundamentally change all evolution of the mantle currents.
2>Google and Nasa in space venture (BBC)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4292458.stm
NASA finds someone qualified to do the work for them. Maybe there is hope for the old space stalwart after all. I'd like to see NASA bring in more corporate partnerships, at the very least because it keeps that money out of the sticky hands of SETI.
If we could put ads on the Shuttle, we'd be able to pay to go to Mars by within like 2 years. NASA are fools and drag their feet on purpose, you heard it here first.
Web search firm Google has formed a partnership with US space agency Nasa in an effort to harness new technology which could boost the space programme.
3>Lima Prison Pageant Showcases Poise (earthlink.net)
http://start.earthlink.net/article/str?guid=20050930/433cb840_3421_13345200509301656954676
As I am wont to say ... only in Peru. I've heard of just about every pageant that there is, ranging from sexy to downright repulsive, but this one is truly a strange bird. One wonders who came up with the idea to showcase prisoners in a beauty contest, but I applaud that sick tyrannical man, wherever he is.
As an audience of Peruvian dignitaries applauded, a 24-year-old Thai woman was declared the winner of the annual Miss Spring contest at Santa Monica Women's Prison in Lima.
Like many of her rivals in Thursday night's event, Onuma Chumsri was imprisoned for drug trafficking in Peru, the world's second largest producer of cocaine after Colombia. She is awaiting formal sentencing. 4>Bohemian Grove Employee Blows the Whistle on Inside Events(globalnewsmatrix.com)
http://www.globalnewsmatrix.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2810
Where else would a wannabe Alex Jones show up than on The Alex Jones Show ? It appears that some dude worked at Bohemian Grove and now wants to spill the beans on what goes on there, so he called AJ and told him all about it.
I was going to berate this "Kyle" character for not having a shred of proof, but it turns out he has like 5 hours of video and 50 still pictures which will be in a re-release of Alex Jones's Bohemian Grove movie (of course). Unless "Kyle" turns up dead somewhere. I eagerly await seeing how this story pans out.
Upon returning to begin work at the annual "Spring Jinx" "Kyle" witnessed the extensive use of biometric scanning equipment. Employees now have to hand scan to gain entry and to leave the Grove. It seems that security has been stepped up since Alex Jones infiltrated over five years ago. The members are able to forego this scanning and simply have ID cards.
Alex snook in through the undergrowth before the main entrance to the grove. "Kyle" stated that there are now motion sensors all over that area to prevent any new would-be intruders.
"Kyle" described how the employees at the Grove are segregated in separate areas and have to wear different color coded badges.
He then went on to describe how as one of the younger men in there, he was approached numerous times by men in their 50s, 60s and 70s and asked if he "slept around".
5>Real-Life Ghost Whisperer: James Van Praagh (E ! Online)
http://et.tv.yahoo.com/tv/etsid585260012639/index.html/
You know you are one of the clowns of esoterica when you are being featured on E ! online. James Van Praagh ranks right up there with John Edwards as dudes in esoterica who are total losers. Van Praagh's arrogance is only surpassed by his sheer lack of quality. I think he's been on C2C once in the past few years and Noory gushed like he was the second coming of Malachai Martin. Sadly, he isn't.
World-famous for communicating with the dead, JAMES VAN PRAAGH has brought his life experiences to the small screen with the hit CBS show "Ghost Whisperer." Now, the medium reveals secrets to the hit show!
Army Faces Worst Recruiting Slump in Years (infowars.com via AP)
http://www.infowars.com/articles/military/recruiting_worst_slump_in_years.htm
Can we just get the draft over with already ? Geez, enough teasing it. This article claims that the army only needs like 50,000 new soldiers based on the current situation. Throw in the surefire Iranian / Syrian invasion of the next year and you're going to need tons more.
We all know that an event of horrific magnitude will be the catalyst for another draft. Start stocking your bunkers now, kids.
The Army is closing the books on one of the leanest recruiting years since it became an all-volunteer service three decades ago, missing its enlistment target by the largest margin since 1979 and raising questions about its plans for growth.
Many in Congress believe the Army needs to get bigger _ perhaps by 50,000 soldiers over its current 1 million _ in order to meet its many overseas commitments, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Army already is on a path to add 30,000 soldiers, but even that will be hard to achieve if recruiters cannot persuade more to join the service.
That's Entertainment !
(The move to a bi-weekly News Watch will probably see the return of BoA's own Khyron to That's Entertainment ! He's been rolling out some great stuff @ www.khyron.net for quite some time. I suggest you check it out till he returns.)
TV Shows on DVD
When I was a kid, the only way to really "collect" your TV shows was to try and capture them all on one or two VHS tapes. This consisted of having to actually tape them yourself and usually included the quickly dated commercials, out of order episodes, and a host of other miscues that seem to arise.
Then came DVDs. Somewhere along the way a genius in Hollywood thought on putting TV shows on DVD. I'm not being sarcastic when I call him a genius, as it was a move that I cheer every day. Along with the DVD, in general, the trend of putting TV shows on DVD just might be the entertainment change I most enjoy of the last ten years.
No longer are we slaves to the TV schedule. We can just pick up whole seasons of shows at the store and watch them whenever we want. That, my friends, is progress.
Here now are the TV shows on DVD that I own and you can see how my life has improved :
Only Fools and Horses : Where the hell else am I going to be able to get two seasons of one of the greatest britcoms of all time ? BBC America or PBS and their probably only on at like 4 in the morning.
The Office : TV shows on DVD has allowed for cult sensations to gain a foothold by making them more accessible to folks who like them and folks who miss them. I've seen shows that got canceled after one season get the DVD treatment, so you can relive the glory years of "Cop Rock" or "Undeclared" and imagine what life would have been like if they'd never been canceled. In the case of The Office, it's tanking in the ratings and I doubt NBC will give it much more life. But I'll always have Season One on DVD (and, no doubt, Season Two).
Quincy M.E. : Only the greatest Crime Scene Investigator show of all time. DVDs have allowed for old shows to be given new life and allow for people like me to not have to scour the Hallmark Channel for choice episodes from the man they call Quince. I am a Quincy fanatic and, sadly, probably only one of thirty or so. Luckily, one of those thirty or so managed to get the show put out on DVD, so I can finally watch Quincy again !
Family Guy : I confess to being one of the millions of folks who bought the Family Guy DVD that caused the unprecedented move of getting Family Guy "un-canceled". Never in my memory have I seen a movement where a show is so popular in cancellation that the networks bring it back. Perhaps the funniest cartoon of all time, second to only the Simpsons.
Futurama : If only the same would happen for my other favorite cartoon, the underrated Futurama. Forsaken by Fox, we are left with only the complete 4 seasons of the show to realize how awesome it was and how stupid Fox was for not promoting it better. Hopefully, someday Futurama can pull a Family Guy and make a comeback to making new episodes.
So you can see, DVDs are not just for movie fans anymore. They are also the key to a better life in the form of TV shows on DVD. The future is now and it is fantastic.
My Fandom : Year 2
I promised to show up this week to either celebrate or mourn and, oddly enough, I'm forced to do neither, as the Sox have managed to make the playoffs by the skin of their teeth. For those keeping score at home, the Sox beat the Yankees 2 out of 3 this weekend, ending the season with an identical record to their hated rivals. There will be no playoff game between the two, as the feeble Cleveland Indians managed to get swept by Chicago and fell totally out of playoff contention, leaving the Wild Card slot to be taken by the Red Sox.
Despite having the exact same records for the season, the geniuses at MLB determined that the hated Yankees were AL East champions because they won more head-to-head games all season. This is really the result of some newfangled rule change that took place a few years back and is more of an effort to save using a pitcher over a play-off game whose only goal would be to determine bragging rights over the top team in the AL East. I, for one, am disgusted. The hated Yankees win AL East for the 8th straight time, Red Sox win Wild Card for the 3rd straight time. Both are headed to the playoffs.
Some tidbits from the weekend series versus the Yanks. In the first game, MVP wannabe Alex Rodriguez managed to let a ball roll between his legs ala Bill Buckner while the season's real MVP "Big Papi" David Ortiz drove in an RBI to put the Sox on top early. Rodriguez probably had a better weekend overall than Ortiz, but I'm hoping the votes for MVP get split between Rodriguez and Yankee closer Mariano Rivera and then Papi can slip in and make history as the first DH to win MVP. Looking at who is truly the Most Valuable Player in the American League, there's no contest, it's David Ortiz. If he doesn't win it, it's because he is a DH and doesn't play on the field and the baseball writers are prejudiced against DH's winning MVP.
Meanwhile, in game 2, if Kevin Millar catches that line drive that managed to skim his glove and makes the double play that was simple, the Sox may have won the game. That early error, which wasn't recorded as an error but we all know it was, cost the Sox 2 runs and made it a 3 run game moments after the Sox had brought it within 1 run. Couple Millar's gaffe with Edgar Renteria striking out on a full count with the bases loaded in the next inning and you have the two reasons the Sox blew game 2. Had Edgar walked, they would have gotten another run and David Ortiz would be coming up with the bases loaded. Instead, Edgar blows it and the Sox strand 3 guys on base when they were just about to totally ruin Randy Johnson.
Game 3 was a moot point, as Cleveland was already in the cellar by the time the game started and the Sox jumped out ahead early and never looked back. By mid-game, Cleveland had already lost and the Sox were officially in the playoffs, so I went off and took a nap.
Now, looking ahead to this week and the 1st round of the playoffs. The Sox face the faltering Chicago White Sox. The Chi Sox were the darlings of the MLB for the first half of the season, led by loudmouth Ozzie Guillen. The Red Sox won more head-to-head games against them (four to three) and are obviously looking to get back to the AL championship series, because they know the hated Yankees are still in this race. What makes me nervous is that this is a "Best of 5" series, which means there is little room for error. My prediction : Red Sox win in 4 games.
The hated Yankees play the Anaheim Angels in their 1st round match up. Of the four AL teams in the playoffs, Anaheim has had the most rest going into the playoffs and has some strong elements on their team. They will be hard to beat, for the Yankees at least. That said, the hated Yanks manage to win when no one expects them to, so I suspect they will win the 1st round, possibly in 5 games.
Should things go as planned, that will take us to the 3rd consecutive year where the Sox and Yankees face off for the AL Championship. You know who I think will win that one (the Sox), but we'll discuss that when it happens later next week. I'll save my reflections on the season for when it is over. Until then, go Sox !
The Noory Story Showdown
This Week's Point Getters : Of note, an addendum to last week's scores. I mistakenly gave baemark credit for the Scott Stevens story when Oscar had already posted it @ USofE under the title of "'ELECTROMAGNETIC GENERATOR' WAS USED FOR KATRINA" The score has been adjusted this week to reflect correction of the error.
Streamlinkers : mirage (2) : "Israelis urge U.S. to stop Iran's nuke goals" and "Apparent suicide bomb kills one outside OU stadium"
sheepskin : "Hyperactive disorder drug 'raises risk of suicidal thoughts"
joelnet : "Tom Delay Hammered"
theUSofE.com : baemark (6 points) : "armed dolphins missing in gulf", "Brown Defends FEMA Response and fesses up to some mistakes", "live giant squid captured on camera", "NASA head says shuttle was mistake", "DeLay Indicted in Campaign Finance Probe", and "Jailed reporter reaches deal in CIA leak probe"
theorist (6 points): "NO police cheif quits", "PR town may build UFO site", "Roberts confirmed to lead Supreme Court", "Car bombs in Iraq kill more than 110", "Bomb blasts rock Indonesia's Bali, 21 dead" and "Russia-US crew and tourist blast off into space"
Oscar (4 points) : "Don Adams dies", "Dead babies for Satanic rituals found in Jesus statues", "'Planet Xena' has a sidekick: Gabrielle" and "El Salvador volcano kills two"
Current Standings as of 8.3.5 : Oscar (57), Baemark (54), theorist (20), mirage (12), FAZER (6), Tony1 (6), somnus (6), dark matter (5), jerikai (4), Majestic Peak (3), qwerty (3), joelnet (2), sheepskin (2), WTL (2), Green Moon (2), Shredder (2), Japanese American (2), SomeAverageJoe (2), 1234 (2), anotherlight (1), cns (1), Nettie (1), PB@J (2), and infinity 7th (1).
Score 1 point for posting a news story that gets read by George Noory, Art Bell, or a guest host on the show. Stories posted after they are read by the hosts do NOT count. If you are not credited by me in News Watch, YOU are responsible for letting me know that I missed it. You can ONLY post your news stories in either the Streamlink message board "Current Events" folder or the U.S. of E. message board "Current Events" folder. (News Stories posted in individual episode folders or "Anything Goes" do not count)
The WINNER is the person with the most Noory Story points (cumulative) in the January 2nd, 2006 Edition of News Watch.
The 1st PRIZE is a $40 dollar shopping spree @ the official binnallofamerica.com store.
The 2nd & 3rd place PRIZES are binnallofamerica.com T-Shirts and a mystery surprise item.
Any questions / comments can be sent to tbinnall@hotmail.com This contest is REAL. No wagering, please. Editorial
Supremely Awful
So while I am busy watching Hurricane coverage and Red Sox games, it appears that John Roberts has managed to get the job as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Ugh. Before the Bush lovers in the audience get all hot and bothered, hear me out.
Let's start with human nature. I fear change. Change is not good. I'm still not over the Pope dying. Having a new Chief Justice for the Supreme Court is like when the year changes and I keep writing last year's date for the first 6 weeks of the new year. Having a new Supreme Court Justice, and a Chief Justice at that, is somewhat exciting, but it is more of an annoyance.
Then we move onto the awfulness that is the "lifetime appointment" dealie where the Supreme Court Justices get a job for life. Damn. I wish I could get a job for life. (A good job, at least). Couple this clause with the seemingly low age for Roberts and come to the conclusion that we're stuck with this guy, good or bad, for at least 20 years.
I'll be honest, I know little to nothing about Roberts's opinions on anything other than his fashion sense and overall presentation, which would best be described as "bland". I'm just more put off by the fact that he came out of nowhere and now has some serious power for the next 20 years. I know what the more cynical of you are saying, "Who cares ? The Supreme Court are a bunch of losers anyway !" Exactly.
I'm not sure who's side their on anymore, but it seems like the Supreme Court makes more and more terrible decisions by the year. Whether it's striking down medical marijuana or property owner's laws, they just do not care about the little guy. At the rate things are going, I fully expect them to give robots the vote in the next dozen years. Don't laugh, as in that prediction may lie a grain of truth. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Court rule on something regarding electronic voting in the future and I don't think they'll see it our way.
That goes to the big problem I see that seems to be going on. When the crazies want to push some new law that is just awful for all of us (see Patriot Act) and the good folks want to fight this law, it always goes to the Supreme Court, like some shootout in an old Western. "Oh yeah, well we'll take it to the Supreme Court ! " (Cue suspensful music) And, more often than not lately, the Supreme Court sides with the awful law.
As things go from bad to fascist here in the US, I expect more showdowns in front of the "high court". And more losses for freedom lovers everywhere. It doesn't matter if you are a "R" or a "D", the agenda doesn't care either. So don't bemoan Roberts, himself. I'm sure he's a halfway decent guy. Remember, at the end of the day, he's only another pawn in their game.
That does it for this week's News Watch. NW returns in 2 weeks with more looks at the insanity that is the news of the world. Next week it's "20 Guests C2C Needs : Revisited". A top to bottom list of who on the list went where last year.
Plugs : Lesley has one of her best columns ever this Tuesday with an awesome "Grey Matters". She picks up where she left off with last week's examination of the Richard Doty book "Exempt from Disclosure" with some big picture questions. Wednesday, we hope Khyron has the energy to muster another stellar edition of "ghost files". He's been cooking with gas all last month and it's not gone unnoticed. Thursday's Hot Newz reveals how Richard C. Hoagland has managed to get on C2C so much this year. Friday ... the binnall report, the mothership of BoA. Saturday : binnall of america : audio, Season One continues with Robert Miles, author, filmmaker, abductee. Sunday, it's SNP and smoker dave. And we already previewed next week earlier.
binnallofamerica.com, proving the theory of evolution one day at a time.
A rare night off from the Sox as we prepare to hunker down and head into the playoffs. Looks like I'll have time to enjoy the big Monday Night rasslin' battle and reflect on what Richard Hoagland means to me. Until you hear from us in two weeks, be safe, be prepared, and be real.