Coming off yet another hefty esoteric news weekend, it is time for our weekly jaunt through what the media wants us to know. Yes, it's "News Watch", the often overlooked "cousin Oliver" of the binnall empire.

This week, all the usual nonsense, though I confess to being rather burned out and looking forward to some down time following the posting of this week's edition. That said we commence with the News Watch and, as always, questions, comments and what have you are always welcome.

Hot 5 Stories of the Week

1>Clinton sleeps on floor so elder Bush can have bed (AP via CNN)http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/03/06/bush.clinton.ap/index.html

You expect wild stuff when two former presidents go on tour. Half soused groupies, creepy hangers-on, midgets, drag queens, and subtle geniuses. So I was not surprised to hear of this strange story from the flight over to the Tsunami torn part of the world.

One wonders about the growth of a relationship between Clinton and Bush, since they became America's favorite duo since Ben Affleck and J-Lo. Hanging out at the Superbowl, these two are a modern day Hall and Oates and they know it. Bush claims he and Clinton are not particularly close, but that there is a mutual respect, not unlike Simon and Garnfunkle.

But for those of you reared on VH1 specials and reality tv, there's this little nugget from behind the curtain :

Bush, 80, said Clinton offered ahead of time to give the older former president the bedroom so he could lie flat and avoid paining his body. Clinton, 58, decided to play cards in the other room that night.

The next morning, Bush said he peeked in and saw Clinton sound asleep on the plane's floor.

2>NYC to Try to Count Homeless in Streets (AP via Myway.com)

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050307/D88M9NIO0.html

One would have thought the good people in NYC would have tried to count the number of homeless before this year's treacherous winter. Sadly, they did not. Instead, they wait until aftwerwards, probably because it will be easier.

Obviously, the city has no clue about the mindset of the homeless. They will surely have heard of this imending survey and will disappear into the shadows, so as to not be counted. Irregardless, an above ground survey is futile, considering the rumoured masses of homeless people huddled beneath the streets in abandoned subway tunnels. See "Mole People" for more information, very informative, albeit a tad controversial.

I've always admired the homeless, some of them are quite crafty, rather McGuiver-esque. Here's what the braintrust behind the survey say :

"City officials know how many people are sleeping in New York's homeless shelters on any given night: 36,000. What they don't know is how many are sleeping on the streets, in parks and in alleys."

To find out, the city planned to send 2,000 volunteers to the dark corners of all five boroughs Monday night for the first-ever citywide population survey of the homeless."

3>Woman Arrested Over 96 Cents : Ohio mom jailed for '01 city income tax bill (Steve Quayle via worldnetdaily.com)

http://www.stevequayle.com/News.alert/05_Global/050307.$.96.arrest.html

I love trying to find the most insane story of the week. Of the most asinine arrests that somehow occur in this strange nation. Yes, some lady did not file income taxes because she only owed 96 cents and was subsequently arrested. Even stranger, it's not that she didn't pay the 96 cents, it was that she didn't file the tax forms in question, after being told that the 96 cents was not a big deal by some guy who worked for the city. Now, she'll probably have to pay nearly 1000 times that and may lose her job. Poor girl.

What a world. Here's some more :

"A Mansfield, Ohio, woman was arrested and jailed for failure to file a 2001 city income tax bill totaling 96 cents.

Markeeta Gould, 26, earned $55 that year, working part-time as a nurse's aide. She says when she received a letter from the Income Tax Division of the city finance director's office last year about missed filing, she explained the situation to a city employee who told her not to bother with the trifling amount."

4>Firms Taking Action Against Worker Blogs (AP via myway.com)

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050307/D88M5J105.html

Yes, it's not just smoking that "the man" doesn't want you doing outside of work, it's also expressing yourself online. Apparently there is a sweeping trend of companies looking at their employees' blogs and firing them when they crap on their own bosses or do other stuff that ruffles the feathers of the "boys upstairs". In a world where people are desperate to keep their jobs as it is, companies have greater control over what their employees do in their downtime and this is yet another sign of the times.

From the Article :

Last fall, Simonetti posted photographs of herself posing in a Delta Air Lines uniform inside a company airplane, her bra partly revealed in one. She was fired weeks later.

And in January, Jen was fired by Google over a blog that discussed life at the company, even though he said "it's all publicly available information and my personal thoughts and experiences."

5>Bono may head World Bank (AP via infowars.com) http://www.infowars.com/articles/nwo/bono_may_head_world_bank.htm

What the crap ? Seriously. Bono is no more qualified than I am to run the World Bank and I am seriously unqualified. I hope this is a joke like thsoe folks who vote for "Dick Nixon" for class president. I find it troubling, Bono's creepy little infestation in world affairs and politics.

I smell a VP candidate for Arnold.

From the Article :

Treasury Secretary John Snow on Sunday would not rule out the idea of Irish singer Bono, an activist on debt relief and AIDS, making the short list of potential candidates to lead the World Bank even though an American is expected to get the job.

Future News Now

Japan mulls moon base (CNN via Reuters)

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/02/28/japan.space.reut/index.html

We all know that the US is the de facto leader in space travel, mostly because no one else bothers to get into the game. That is until the last few years when a renaissance in international space ambitions has happened. If it's not India it's China. If it's not Europe, now it's Japan.

Yes, the "Land of the Rising Sun" has decided that they want a moon base. Yet another country says they want a piece of the moon. It appears that a slow motion race to the moon has begun, between China, Japan, Europe, and, of course, our old "friends" at NASA. Sit back and prepare yourself for a series of follies, the likes of which have not been seen since the last time NASA messed something up.

Meanwhile, I wish the best to Japan in getting a moon base set up. Lord knows, they will have some amazing golf courses there.

Noory Stories

This week we bestow kudos and honor to Templar, who broke the story on the dolphins getting stranded off the coast of Florida. Noory was all about that last week. Noory may have also mentioned the "giant figures" that were unearthed, as noted by afeent1. And, SimpleComplexities story about another suicide bombing in Iraq was surely discussed by Noory during his opening salvo of news updates.

Thanks to all who posted quality stories. Hopefully The Noor will grab some more next week. Think you know Noory ? Post the hottest story ya got and if Noory reads it, you get acclaim and fame in next week's News Watch.

Jackson Schmackson