If I thought last week's "News Watch" was thrown together on-the-fly, then this one is even worse. I completely flaked today, waking up hours past when I was planning, and, thusly, pushing this week's "NW" far past it's usual starting point. I apologize to my loyal readers, but, be sure, that we are here in full force again this week.
Pre-plugs : Free MP3 of binnall interviewing Dr.Michael Salla @ binnallofamerica.com. Length : 30 minutes approximately. Value : Priceless to those interested in Ufology. Also, we spent much of this weekend working on a streamlined new look for binnallofamerica.com and expect to unveil it around this time next week, possible on June 1st.
Until then ... the news :
Hot 5 Stories of the Week
1>NASA chief lukewarm on space station research (Reuters via CNN) http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/05/19/nasa.research.reut/index.html
Stop the presses ! A story where I actually agree with and praise NASA ?! Yes. Or, at least, the new NASA administrator. He's talking about taking some funding away from the fossilized space station to devote the money to developing the next generation space exploration vehicle. Oh ... my ... God, NASA says something that actually makes sense.
Suffice it to say, I'm all for it. I'm tired of hearing about some half-baked project that two Russian guys are working on up there for 9 months at a time while the wonders of space exists miles outward. I'm tired of throwing all of our NASA money at fixing the plumbing on the old station or updating their VCR to a DVD player. It's wasteful and just plain gross.
Now is the time to scrap all Shuttles. Hell, sell them to Europe if you want. But get rid of them. Build new ships that can go to Mars. Go there. Get the Face. 'Nuff said. If this new NASA administrator keeps talking like he knows what he is doing, there may be a sliver of hope for decent space work being done before I'm 65.
NASA's chief gave a lukewarm assessment Wednesday of the international space station's research capabilities and said he might divert money from that project to help build a vehicle to replace the space shuttle.
"The station is limited in its research potential," NASA Administrator Michael Griffin told a Senate panel on space and science.
2>High School's Lone Senior Graduates (AP via myway.com)
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050522/D8A8CVNO1.html
Just plain weird. Apparently there are schools deep in the Northwest that only have a handful of kids. Now there is one less, as Outlook School in Montana is closing down. There just is no need for a school when the population was reported as "82" in 2000.
I've always felt bad for kids that go to regional high schools in these rural areas. They sound rather ... lame. All these kids from all over the area because they're town is too tiny for a real school. How sad.
"When Outlook School closes its doors Wednesday, they won't shut just for the summer. The school in this shrinking farm community that had a population of 82 in the 2000 census is closing for good. There aren't enough students to keep the school open.
"Two weeks before school started, we had 27 kids enrolled," said school clerk LaVerle "Bunky" Wirtz. "A week before school started, we had four."
3>'Nanny' Prescott wants to control the temperature of your bath(London Telegraph via infowars.com) http://www.infowars.com/articles/ps/uk_nanny_prescott_wants_control_bathwater_temp.htm
I don't know if it's Big Brother gone mad or just insanity, but they want to regulate bath water temperature in the UK. Are you serious ? This is yet another in a long line of legislation aimed at controlling nothing serious in favor of actually dealing with serious priorities.
This is also another in a series of "government as parent" laws that have gone through with ease over the past few decades. It's obvious the people are too dumbed down to take care of themselves, so now the government, in the UK so far, wants to do it for them. Egads. Anyone wanna bet on how long this insanity gets to America ?
Regulations will require that devices limiting the temperature of water available from bath taps be fitted in all new homes. The law, which the Government says is "essential" to prevent scalding, is expected to take effect in 2006.
A spokesman for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, which is responsible for building regulations, confirmed that the plans were moving forward and suggested the changes might gradually be introduced for existing homes as well.
4>Elephant attack boosts business at eatery (Reuters via myway.com) http://reuters.myway.com/article/20050523/2005-05-23T155625Z_01_SEO283201_RTRIDST_0_ODD-KOREA-ELEPHANT-DC.html
I figured money grabbing and exploitation of bizarreness was a solely American agenda. Not so, says the South Korean eatery that was trampled by three elephants last month. The fixed the holes in the walls and came up with a new theme : elephants. You gotta love it. Check out their new name :
The restaurant that serves barbecue and other traditional Korean foods was closed for a month for repairs after three elephants rampaged through its plate-glass front. It has just reopened with a new name: "Restaurant Where Elephants Have Been."
5>Student journalists sue school district (AP via CNN) http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/05/20/student.paper.lawsuit.ap/index.html
Oh boy. Someone is not doing their job at East Bakersfield High. The school paper is outraged that they couldn't print a story on homosexuality, as their principal put the kaybosh on it. So what do they do ? They sue the school district.
Didn't their journalism teacher teach them that the job of the media is to bend to the whims of the government that controls it ? They are a propaganda arm aimed at embellishing the exploits of the Chess Team and undermining the morale at West Bakersfield High. They are to be used to crush dissent and bring about the response desired by the "higher ups" at the school. No more, no less. If the students think this is the way the "big leagues" of journalism are played, then they will be in for a big surprise when they intern at CNN in the summer.
Student journalists sued their Bakersfield high school district Thursday in an effort to keep the school's principal from censoring student newspaper articles on homosexuality.
The suit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, requests an emergency order to allow the paper to publish the stories in The Kernal's year-end May 27 issue.
Future News Now
Human embryo cloned for first time in Britain (Agence France Presse via Infowars.com) http://www.infowars.com/articles/science/human_embryo_cloned_first_time_in_uk.htm
Momma always said that what they tell us is a scientific breakthrough is usually 10 years behind what they can achieve in "the black". So they cloned a human embryo ... for the "first time". I doubt it. This does open the door for an amazing array of "cloning breakthroughs" over the next 3 or 4 years that will stun and amaze the people.
One wonders what "they" can achieve behind closed doors. An army of super soldiers bred to crush humanity ? Chicken that tastes like beef ? A hamster that will live longer than 2 years ? Sit back and watch the miracles at work.
A human embryo has been cloned for the first time in Britain, where such work is strictly regulated, scientists announced.
Scientists at Newcastle University, the first in Britain to obtain a licence to carry out therapeutic cloning for stem cell research, said they had successfully produced a blastocyst -- a tiny, early-stage embryo consisting of a hollow ball of cells -- cloned from a human cell using nuclear transfer.
The Noory Story Showdown
This Week's Point Getters : Lots of points scored this week by the dillegent folks who are competing for top honors in The Noory Story Showdown which concludes in 6 weeks. Time is ticking by and every point will count as we head to the end.
Noory pulled a fast one on me this week by reading some news at one of those mid-hour breaks. I probably missed those as I just checked the show opening headlines. So if I missed you, write me and I'll check it out.
Streamlinkers : mirage scores with "South Natomas Home Covered in Sheet Metal", read by Art Bell on Sunday. SomeAverageJoe scores with "Lake Dissapears, Baffling Villagers".
theUSofE.com : "8 Year Old Girl Found Buried Alive", posted by baemark was read by Art Bell on Sunday. "Russian Lake Dissapears, Baffling Villagers" was nailed by Oscar and was read by both Noory and Bell. (Sorry, Oscar, you only get 1 point). "Calf Born with 5 legs, 6 hooves" was read by Noory on Friday, netting Degataga a point. Baemark scored again with the story on "Laura Bush's Jerusalem Trip". Oscar scored another 2 points with "Frank Gorshin Dies at 72" and "Air Force -- wants to dominate space". And, Oscar scores one more time with "NOAA issues Space Weather Warning". Baemark scores again with "Drug's Effect on Cancer Stuns Doctors".
Notes : Contact me if you think I missed your story.
Current Standings as of 5.23.5 : Oscar (11), Templar (9), mirage (8 ), Dennis (6), Degataga (6), Baemark (6), Jerikai (4), FAZER (3), Valkryie (2), SomeAverageJoe (2), SimpleComplexities (2), TxStarGazer (2), Raven (2), shanesq1 (1), jerseyred (1), Dustminer (1), afeent1 (1), crimsonadam (1), sideshow (1), 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
Rumours persist that we are coming to the end of the Jackson Trial. And not a moment too soon. Some say the defense will rest by the end of the this week, but don't hold your breath just yet.
This week, the judge shot down testimony from CNN bigwig Larry King after he was going to testify that he heard the lawyer for the accuser saying that tainted their credibility. The judge did not allow this testimony.
The testimonies this week all undermined the prosecution's case, by bringing in folks who either ripped on the story of the accuser or boosted Jackson's credibility. Whether it was Jackson's 12 year old cousin or someone going after the accuser's mother, it was shot after shot at their story. How much of it resonated with the jury, we will have to wait and see.
Today, it was revealed that the testimony was nearing an end and that the defense would probably rest its case at the end of the this week. The judge pulled the plug on a lot of the celebrity witnesses as he said they needed to be gone over on a "case by case basis" to see if their testimony was even remotely relevant. The Jackson Defense Team didn't really bother to fight that and dropped most of that vaunted celebrity list in response. I'm not sure if that affects the long-awaited Jay Leno testimony, so we'll have to wait and see on that.
Expect a verdict sometime in June. We'll, of course, be there until the trial concludes.
The Jackson Scale : 65 (Last Week : 75)
Comment : The Jackson Defense Team finally produced some decent witnesses and their decision to conclude so soon is usually a good sign that the prosecution has no 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
Weapons in Space ?
Insanity ! We knew all along that this was coming, but now it is official. The Air Force wants weapons in space in a move that was announced this week. Something tells me that the ETs will not like this. And neither do I.
While I find the idea of being able to shoot down a nuclear weapon from space to be a fantastic defensive based idea, I'm weary of even believing in it, considering the utter failure of our defenses on 911. Who's kidding who ? They'll never be able to get it to work properly if they can even get it running. Oh no, this will be used for much more nefarious purposes.
In some ways, it is a matter of doing it before our enemies do it. If we do not weaponize space, then expect China to do it before us. And, either way, expect China to be better at it than us. Not because they are better than us, but because they are insane and want to control the world as bad as America. Are we careening towards World War III ? You bet we are.
But let's get down to brass tacks. There is no way this is even remotely allowed by whatever extraterrestrial forces control the universe. We are a simple race of people who have no business in bringing our "toys" out into their neighborhood. I expect that if we even do begin building weapons in space, they will be quickly rendered useless by the ETs who monitor what is going on here on our little rock.
So, no, I do not endorse weapons in space. It is a crazy idea. That said, it may be the beginnings of Disclosure should the government desperately want to put weapons out there. What other reason could be greater than a potential threat from aliens ? None. Therefore, if the need is pressing enough, the government may spill the beans on UFOs in order to get weapons out in space. Classic "problem-reaction-solution".
End Notes
Big thanks to Dr. Michael Salla who not only sat down for this week's "BoA : audio", but also gave us a nice plug on his mailing list this week. If you haven't heard my interview with Dr. Salla, then you are missing out. Free MP3 available at binnallofamerica.com. We are in the process of developing a streaming style of audio, but that may not come about until mid-June.
Until then here's the plugs for this week's stuff : An awesome "Grey Matters" this week, talking about Disclosure. We may see the return of "ghost files" or "Wrath of Joe" so stay tuned for those gems. Also, George Noory's college adventures in this week's Hot Newz. And, coming this weekend, Dr. Alfred Webre on "binnall of america : audio", where we discuss Exopolitics, galactic superwaves, Martians coming to America and a few other great topics.
Until next week, when I hope to have a more prepared "News Watch" , be safe, be prepared, and be real.