Just coming down after a wild weekend of back to back to back Bob Dylan shows in Boston. Suffice it to say, the shows were simply amazing. Forty songs over the course of 3 nights from Dylan, so many moments and songs, that it will take a long time for me to digest it all fully. Just a really great experience.
Of Note : There will be no News Watch next week as I will be in Washington D.C. @ the X-Conference. Sorry folks. We will return on May 2nd. That's right, April is nearly over already, egads.
Tis time, however, for this week's News Watch, your weekly jaunt through the news cycle, along with lots of fun games and gimmicks.
Hot 5 Stories of the Week
1>Zoo Wants Chimpanzee to Stop Smoking (Reuters via myway.com)
What kind of craptacular zoo allows their monkeys to smoke ? Why the one in South Africa, which houses a smoking chimpanzee. I suspect the boredom of being confined in a, no doubt, filthy home would be enough
to cause any health conscious mammal to take up the habit of hacking butts.
This story should serve as a powerful testament to the idea that not every city needs or can properly run a zoo. Obviously, South Africa qualifies in this regard as they cannot be providing good care if their animals are smoking. It's time to step in, close down the zoo, and free this smoking monkey.
Barnes said the most important thing was that people stop providing Charlie with cigarettes or any other treats, noting the chimp already had three bad teeth because of all the cans of sweet soft drinks that people throw at him.
Charlie is not the only smoking chimpanzee. A zoo in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou reported last year that one of its chimps had taken up smoking and was desperately bumming cigarette butts off visitors.
2>Mishap ends NASA robotic test mission early (AP via CNN)
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/04/16/dart.launch.ap/index.html
I swear, I wasn't even looking for an anti-NASA article when this one popped up in my weekly search for news. I wonder if it just me or the rest of the media as well that enjoys pointing out the many missteps and foibles of the maligned space agency. In the article, NASA and their apologists try and say that since the mission accomplished its first tasks that it was a minor success.
Not so fast, NASA. The mission cost an ungodly 110 million. Yet another sterling example of NASA wasting money on poorly produced projects. While I can understand the idea behind the project (automated trips via a craft into space), they continue to get ahead of themselves and have no concept of priorities. They can barely put men back in space, haven't been back to the moon in over 20 years, and are trying to devise ways of doing automated missions.
I ask, once again, how many times will NASA be allowed to waste money and botch projects before a serious overhaul of the entire organization ? Not much longer, I speculate.
"The spacecraft was supposed to have maneuvered around the satellite, getting as close as 15 feet, for another 12 hours. After the problem arose, the 800-pound craft began coasting; it will eventually disintegrate in orbit. ...
The $110 million mission, classified as high-risk because of its automated controls and relatively low budget, was intended to help lay the groundwork for future projects like robotic delivery of cargo to space shuttles and automated docking and repair between spacecraft in orbit."
3>Officials: Diseased Deer Served at Verona [New York] Gathering
(Observer-Dispatch via Stevequayle.com)
http://www.stevequayle.com/News.alert/05_Disease/050413.CWD.served.html
Only Steve Quayle could find a story this gross. Humorously, the Annual Sportsman's Feast in Verona, New York included a deer with "chronic wasting disease" on the menu, unbeknownst to those chowing down. Apparently the diseased deer was donated by one of the "sportsmen". Some sportsman, he probably saw the deer dead on the ground, said "I'm not eating this" and "donated" it to the annual dinner. Thankfully, no one is in any danger of getting sick.
The white-tailed deer recently diagnosed with chronic wasting disease was one of the deer donated to the Verona Fire Department and served at its Annual Sportsmen's Feast on Sunday, March 13, an Oneida County Health Department spokesman said today.
4>Man Will Serve Life For Carnival Worker's Death (theomahachannel.com via CNN.com)
http://www.theomahachannel.com/news/4383532/detail.html?subid=22100461&qs=1;bp=t
When it comes to murder victims who get no justice, carnies rank right up there with prostitutes as the oft-killed folks who no one really bothers to investigate. That is, unless it's a carny killing a carny and then the long arm of the law reaches out for some carny justice.
You gotta love the guy who got convicted. He fires his attorney to act as his own attorney. Perhaps that strategy would work in "Carny Court" where the midgets are judges and bearded ladies are bailiffs, but in the real world, that's about as bright as spending a small fortune trying to toss a ring onto a bottle in the hopes of winning a stuffed animal. It's a rigged game.
A jury convicted Gunther in February. He had fired his attorney and represented himself in the case. He's accused of killing two carnival workers last May. Gunther allegedly stabbed Sally Kennedy, 45, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and then shot Zawodny in Bellevue. The three worked together with Blue's Amusements.
5>Kasparov Hit Over Head With Chessboard
(AP via myway.com)
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050418/D89HI3080.html
It's not just Bobby Fischer who's making waves for his political views. His longtime rival Garry Kasparov is no longer a Chess Champion, instead opting to become a Russian political activist. And, he's anti-Putin.
One would think that given Putin's lousy job running Russia that Kasparov would be hailed as an outspoken hero amongst his countrymen. Sadly he is now seen as a traitor, as evidenced by this incident at an autograph signing. Some young kid gets his chess board signed by the former World champion and then promptly smashes him over the head with it. Apparently player - fan brawls are not limited to basketball or baseball.
Garry Kasparov, the world's former No. 1 chess player who quit the professional game last month to focus on politics, said he had been hit over the head with a chessboard in a politically motivated attack.
Kasparov, an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin, was not injured Friday when he was hit with the chessboard after signing it for a young man at an event in Moscow.
Future News Now
Facing the future with a chip in the shoulder (theage.com via Infowars.com)
http://www.infowars.com/articles/bb/rfid_chips_common_as_cellphones_within_decade.htm
After last week's editorial where I outlined the pros and cons of chipping the population, we see this news article found by infowars.com. As expected, it is the usual fluff piece telling us that, no matter what, we are heading towards a chipped population.
And, as predicted by Alex Jones, David Icke, and many other "extreme" conspiracy theorists, the chip is being positioned as a "trendy" new advancement of technology that will be snapped up by the younger generation.
Note the second part of the excerpted quote and shiver with fear.
Forget mobile phones as the hottest new media technology - for anyone under 30, handsets as we know them will be gone in 20 years. The world's tech-savvy youngsters will be using microchip implants to communicate and transact. ...
"Twenty years from now, we (older generations) will still hate it, but kids will never know a world without it."
The Noory Story Showdown
This Week's Point Getters : mirage scores big this week with the initial story breaking the Flu Mix Up on the Streamlink board. jerikai scores again with the story of the Chili Finger from Wendy's. Valkyrie scores from the Streamlink board with the big wave that hit the cruise ship, as Bell hit that story on Sunday.
Current Standings as of 4.18.5 : Templar (9), Oscar (4), FAZER (3), Jerikai (2), mirage (2), Dennis (2), SimpleComplexities (2), TxStarGazer (2), Raven (2), Valkryie (1), shanesq1 (1), jerseyred (1), Dustminer (1), afeent1 (1), crimsonadam (1), sideshow (1), Baemark (1), and outuvbody (1)
The Rules : Score 1 point for posting a news story that gets read by Noory or Art Bell on the show. 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 July 4th Edition of News Watch. Subsequently, there will be a 2nd competition for the 2nd half of 2005, culminating on 1.2.2006. The 1st PRIZE is a $40 dollar shopping spree @ the official binnallofamerica.com store. Any questions / comments can be sent to tbinnall@hotmail.com This contest is REAL. No wagering, please.
Jackson Schmackson
The Jackson Trial was all about the parents this week as both the accusor's step father and his mother took the stand to testify against Jackson. Not much noteworthy from the stepfather, aside from allegations that the boy was "brainwashed" at Neverland, which the defense, obviously, disputes.
The real story of the week was the accusor's mother, who made big news via her wild antics on the stand. The mother recounted how she and her family were held captive by Jackson's crew at Neverland and kept her focus on the jury, at one point saying directly to them, "Please, don't judge me."
Under cross-examination, she fought vigorously with Jackson lead attorney Thomas Mesereau. She would turn to the jury and criticize the defense attorney and Mesereau would offer small side critiques of her answers to the point that the judge had to intervene. Legal analysts said that her testimony may have hurt the prosecution's case more than helped it.
The Jackson Scale : 82 (Last Week : 87)
Comment : Down 5 points for the insane testimony of the mother of the accuser, who probably did a lot of damage to the State's case.
A scale of 1 to 100, with 100 being nearly certain, I will deduce the odds of Jackson being found guilty and going to jail. This is not an opinion of his guilt, just a barometer of the potential outcome of the trial.
Editorial
China v. Japan ... It's Coming
Being a self proclaimed student of geopolitics, I was shocked to hear of a series of protests in China this weekend. Firstly, protests are just not allowed in the Communist regime. Secondly, these were anti-Japan protests, a movement I'd heard little of in recent times.
Yes, it appears that Japan's aggressive actions in World War II are beginning to come back to haunt them in the Far East. And, it needs to be said, China is certainly encouraging such distaste for their island neighbors. It's no secret that China is itching to go to war, whether it be with Taiwan, North Korea, the US or, now, Japan.
I expect, and fully forewarn you all now, that China will be the proverbial "Japan of WWIII". Do not be surprised when they first annex Taiwan, followed by some aggression on their part to begin a full on invasion of Japan. Some creative diplomacy will probably find them on the side of North Korea when they finally decide to stop rattling sabers and get down to wartime business.
Where the US falls in this drama is of obvious interest. Given their unilateral movement in invading Iraq, it would be surprising to see them sit back and allow China to run roughshod over the entire Pacific region. That said, they know that tangling with China at this stage of the game would incite all out war between the US and China, who will probably be aided by Russia.
The seeds are being sown for World War III and it is not a war on terror. No, terrorism is but a prelude to the fighting that will take place between China and Russia and the Allied Forces of the US, Europe, and the usual ally nations. And while my patriotic pride swells as much as anyone, I question whether our country is in possession of another "Greatest Generation" to defeat a difficult enemy. Time will tell.
End Notes
Much like the vaunted Boston Marathon, this race has ended. As noted in the introduction, we will return on 5.2.5 with an all new News Watch. Given the nature of the news cycle nowadays, I think there will be lots to say.
In the meantime, be sure to check out the UFO Roundtable Roundup @ binnallofamerica.com. It's a comprehensive look at the critically acclaimed UFO Roundtable from last week and I consider it a must-have for anyone wishing to go back and re-listen to specific parts. Meanwhile, the full-on X-Conference Preview will be posted sometime either on Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon. Expect a light week, otherwise, as we are gearing up and strapping down for X-Conference and so our normal first class output is centered on the big weekend. As Spring turns to Summer, expect evermore amazing stuff @ binnallofamerica.com.
I return on 5.2.5 with more News Watch, until then, be safe, be real, and be prepared.