|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Coming at you on Monday afternoon, July eighteenth, two thousand five, it's News Watch. This week, a streamlined "Hot 5", a geopolitical "Future News Now", Week 2 of the Noory Story Showdown, Harry Potter in "That's Entertainment ! " , my recollection of the big Red Sox v. Yankees series in "My Fandom : Year 2", and my long-awaited editorial on NASA, where I speculate on just why NASA is so awful.
It's insanely hot here in Boston. I am just plain sticky from enduring this heat. Before you write me to tell me to get some AC, I'll have you know I loathe AC, unless it's Tesla's AC (Alternating Current). Air conditioning is not normal and rather gross. Grosser than being soaked in sweat ? To me, yes.
My weekend has come and gone and probably yours is too. So let's commence to our Monday ritual that is News Watch and start looking forward to the weekend.
Hot 5 Stories of the Week
1>Racing teen desperate for pit stop... (Reuters via myway.com) http://reuters.myway.com/article/20050715/2005-07-15T162201Z_01_N15188945_RTRIDST_0_ODD-CANADA-SPEEDING-DC.html
As a die-hard coffee drinker who often feels the need to relieve while on lengthy road trips, this story hit home with me. I've often wondered if this excuse would work on a cop, but from the looks of it, I doubt it. Then again, I don't think I'd go 115 mph to take a pee.
A Canadian teenager caught driving at almost twice the speed limit told police he had overdosed on a protein drink and was desperately looking for a washroom, the Ottawa Citizen reported on Friday.
Hayder Mobarak's tale did not impress a local judge, who gave him a whopping C$926 fine ($760) and banned him from driving for 30 days. Mobarak was clocked doing 195 km per hour (115 miles per hour) on a road where the limit was 100 km/h.
2>Russia to develop Soyuz replacement (Reuters via CNN.com) http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/07/15/russia.program.reut/index.html
My true favorite space agency, the Russians. They've been using the Soyuz for 38 years. That's 13 years longer than the shuttle. If the space race were to begin again any time soon, I'd put my money on the Russians, at least at first. Who knows, they'll probably end up sending a dog to Mars any day now.
Russia aims to develop a new craft that will eventually replace the 38-year-old Soyuz manned launch vehicle, a step in a long-term plan to send astronauts to Mars.
3>Hawaii fights spread of small, noisy frogs (AP via msnbc.com) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8582887/
Reminds me of that old Simpsons episode where they have a bunch of lizards running amok all over town. You gotta feel for a guy who has a nice house and then, one day, a boatload of noisy frogs all of a sudden decide to make a colony in his back yard. Apparently, Hawaii is the ideal place for these frogs as they can kick back and mate all year round, which is kind of what the humans there do. Dig the last paragraph to get an idea of the coqui frog sounds like.
It's hard to imagine a tiny, 2-inch frog could cause so much harm. Beloved in its native Puerto Rico, the coqui frog has become a menace in Hawaii, where it suddenly appeared in the 1990s. With no natural predators, such as snakes, to keep their numbers under control, the frogs and their loud "ko-KEE" mating calls have multiplied exponentially causing headaches for homeowners.
Some believe the noisy amphibians could also cause serious damage to Hawaii's economy if they drag down housing prices, which real estate agents say is a distinct possibility. Officials have begun an extermination effort on several islands, hoping to get the problem under control before long-term economic losses set in. ...
"I would rather probably live next to a highway rather than live next to an area that has the coqui frogs. The coqui frog (sound) is a shrill shriek and then silence," Lowson said. "A highway is more of a continuous rumble and there is something you can do with it."
4>Beetles steal the show at Hong Kong Disneyland? (Reuters via myway.com) http://reuters.myway.com/article/20050715/2005-07-15T161909Z_01_T293653_RTRIDST_0_ODD-HONGKONG-DISNEY-DC.html
A story guaranteed to make your skin crawl and probably cause you to change your sheets. Looks like the new Hong Kong Disneyland is infested with beetles. And not the Ringo kind. After the failure of Euro Disney, you'd think the folks at Disney would realize that God does not want them to take over the world. The war of good and evil is really Disney v. God, you heard it here first.
Walt Disney Co. is busy replacing furniture at its hotel at the brand new Hong Kong Disneyland after many rooms became infested with beetles, a newspaper reported Thursday.
The Oriental Daily quoted unidentified sources as saying that the pests had gobbled their way into brand new beds and coffee tables in about 100 rooms at the hotel at Disney's first theme park in China.
5>Clinton seeks video game sex scene probe (Reuters via CNN.com) http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/07/15/senate.videogame.reut/index.html
Shockingly, this is actually the other Clinton, Hilary Rodham. From what I understand, there is a bootleg explicit sex scene somewhere in Grand Theft Auto : San Andreas that is making all the teens go crazy for sex, like they needed an excuse. And, of course, sexual killjoy Hilary Clinton is all about putting a stop to it. Thankfully for Ms.Clinton, I know just the man to head this video game sex probe.
Sen. Hillary Clinton pressed Thursday for a government investigation into how simulated sex cropped up in a modified version of the blockbuster criminal adventure video game "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas."
Clinton asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the origins of a downloadable modification that allows simulated sex in the personal computer version of one of the most popular and controversial video games in history.
Future News Now
China, Russia issue joint statement on new world order (infowars.com via Xinhua) http://www.infowars.com/articles/nwo/china_russia_joint_nwo_statement.htm
Forget Disney v. God, the real battle that will tear our fair planet asunder is the NWO v. Russia and China. Sounds like a really great TV show on FX or a subpar pro wrestling bonanza, but it may just save us from the New World Order. From what I can gather from this bizarre missive signed by both Putin and Jintao (China's president) is that they want their own New World Order. Toss in China's declaration that they'll use nukes if we help Taiwain and you can see the impending face off of competing global slavemasters.
Where do I throw my lot ? Damn, baby, on whoever wins.
China and Russia here Friday issued a joint statement on a new world order in the 21st century, setting forth their common stand on major international issues, such as UN reforms, globalization, North-South cooperation, and world economy and trade.
The statement was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao after their talks.
That's Entertainment !
The biggest entertainment news of the week had to be the huge release of the 6th Harry Potter book, "Half Blood Prince". Ironically enough, one of my first few entries at binnallofamerica.com before it became a world wide phenomenon was to lament the insanity of the release of the 5th Potter book.
I've no problem with folks who dig Potter. It's cool. I never got into it too much, but I can understand the compulsion some feel for the fascinating series of books. What irks me are the folks who are over the age of cuteness yet still don those ridiculous magician hats at Barnes and Noble at midnight. You know who I'm talking about, the 40 year old dude who weighs 400 pounds and insists this is the greatest day of his life, until the release of the next Potter book. Get a life.
Meanwhile, some letters surfaced that revealed that Pope Benedict hates Harry Potter. Or, at least that what some lady who wrote an anti-Potter book says. She produced some letters written by Benedict prior to becoming Pope where he praised her anti-Potter attitude. Well, at least he didn't accuse Potter of being gay. I'm sure he's leaving that to his portly supporter Rev. Jerry Falwell.
I've heard the accusations that Potter is all about magic and Satan worship. I don't see it. I can, however, see the insane folks who find hidden messages jumping all over the Potter series as the ultimate clue that the Devil is running amok over the world. These folks never rest until they've ruined everything. I seriously doubt some single mother from England is behind Satan's grand plan, but I've been fooled before.
Enjoy the Pottery, my friends. Each person has their own personal favorite pursuit of fun. I get all excited when there is a big wrestling pay-per-view and some folks just look at me like I am a hapless dwarf. Fear not, Potter fans, I feel your pain. Just don't wear those goofy hats unless you are under the age of 13. Thanks.
Top movie at the box office this weekend was "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", the Tim Burton / Johnny Depp film. This looks promising, I'll probably check it out on DVD, it made $55 million in it's debut weekend. Meanwhile, "Wedding Crashers" opened at number 2, bringing in $32 million. This is probably the only film that will get me into a theater this time of year and that's because it looks to be the funniest film out there in quite some time. "Fantastic Four" ... 3rd place, went over $100 million in just 10 days, with $22 million. Good stuff. "War of the Worlds" in at 4th place with $15 million, while 5th place went to "Batman Begins", making an anemic $5 million.
My Fandom : Year 2
Bit of a downer this weekend, as the hated Yankees were in town and won 3 out of four games over the beloved Red Sox. As usual, the hype was in full force, with the papers plastering huge headlines about the upcoming series early in the week.
In game one, Curt Schilling made his big return to the mound, this time as a closer, i.e. the pitcher who pitches the last inning or so of the game. The score was tied and sadly, Schill Schill (as he's come to be known around my circle of fans) let up two runs and the Sox could not recover in the bottom of the ninth, losing the game. This, of course, brought out the Monday morning quarterbacks and second guessers and the talk radio was so full of insanity that it practically burst into flames.
However, everyone was still psyched for game 2, despite being disappointed that the Schilling experiment turned out so bad on its first night out. Game two was the complete opposite, as the Sox beat the poo out to the Yankees an astounding 17 to 1. This included a hilarious and amazing 3 run inside the park home run from Trot Nixon, who benefited from the Yankee centerfielder making an awful mistake. David Ortiz, known here as "Big Papi" hit an awesome grand slam as well.
The Saturday game began at 1 in the afternoon, which was far too early for me, but I managed to catch most of it at my friend Pud's place. Pud, and his brother "Swamp Dog" are the duo who first got me hooked on the Sox, so their unique perspective is always a riot. I enjoyed listened to Swamp criticize Mark Bellhorn's "little league helmet" and lament Doug Mirabelli's lack of batting gloves. Sadly, Matt Clement, the Sox pitcher, just didn't have it and he let up a bunch of runs early in the game. The Sox crept close to the Yankees, but a miscue at third killed the momentum of what could have been a tying inning. The Sox subsequently lost, despite a nice showing from Schilling in the closer role this time around.
The Sunday game was unique because it was on at 6 PM, an hour earlier than usual night games. It seemed like the Sox couldn't get it in gear the whole game, going against Al Leiter, who'd joined the Yankees like a day earlier. They did manage to rally in the bottom of the 9th, getting the bases loaded with no outs and down by 3 runs. It looked like we were going to see another Fenway miracle, but the vaunted Yankee closer Mariano Rivera put the stop to the Sox rally.
The sub story of the weekend was Johnny Damon's hit streak, which was 25 going into the weekend and he managed to keep it going, bringing it all the way up to 29 games, the longest hit streak since 2003. The most dramatic may have been the Sunday game, where he finally got his hit in the 8th inning at his last at bat. Fenway park went nuts at that point and it may have been what started the rally in the end innings.
Sadly, since they gave up 3 out of 4 games to the Yanks, they now hold a mere .5 game lead over the Yankees and a 1 game lead over the Baltimore Orioles, so the AL East is wide open and the Sox will have to stay in top form to hold onto the top spot.
This week, the Sox take on Tampa Bay, who always seem to get into a bean ball war with the Boston team. Look for guys getting hit and then potential fights out of these two quasi-rivals. And, at the end of the week, Boston takes on the hot Chicago White Sox, who have been on fire for the whole year. Hopefully, the Sox will not get plastered or it will be another depressing weekend.
The Noory Story Showdown
This Week's Point Getters : Low scoring week, with only a handful of stories picked up by Noory or Ian Punnett.
Streamlinkers : SomeAverageJoe scores with "China threatens to nuke US over Taiwan". cns scores with "Los Padres National Forest Hot Spot"
theUSofE.com : Oscar scores 2 points with "Disney fingerscan" story and "Planet discovered in 3 star system". Baemark also scored 2 points with "China threatens to nuke USA" and "shuttle damaged but launch still on"
Notes : If I missed your story, let me know. You can join in the competition at any time, but I suggest any and all Streamlink Members and USofE members to join in and play along whether it is for competition or for fun.
Current Standings as of 7.18.5 : Oscar (6), Baemark (5), dark matter (1), jerikai (1), somnus (1), Shredder (1), anotherlight (1), Japanese American (1), cns (1), SomeAverageJoe (1)
The Rules : 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
NASA : Never A Straight Answer
It's no secret I hate NASA. Every week, I take to the web to find some story about how NASA is awful and insult them like they are the love child of Phil Plait and Seth Shostak. However, sometimes NASA does the job for me and just embarrasses itself without my help. This week, it did just that.
After finally getting ready to launch its shuttle in mid-week, a series of miscues and errors caused NASA to scratch the launch yet again. Remember that this is the space agency to canceled the original launch two months ago. What was even more sad and hilarious was the reasons for canceling the launch. A window cover fell off and hit the shuttle. It was being held on with tape. Ugh. Then a fuel sensor broke at the last minute. They can't figure out why. Egads. So, the launch was scrapped. Sigh. Now, NASA says they will launch late this coming week, at the earliest. Meanwhile, C2C stalwart Richard C. Hoagland claims that if they don't launch soon, it will be pushed all the way to September. (Don't ask me where he gets that insane theory, I'm sure they'll bring him on soon to extrapolate on it.)
Okay now that we are up to speed, let's take a look at NASA, in the last few years since I've been paying attention at the very least. First they accidentally lose a shuttle on re-entry, killing seven people. Then it takes two years and change to get another shuttle into space. Remember that they only have 2 shuttles left as it is. This fleet has been decimated by their incompetence. Should they lose another one in the next 2 or 3 years, expect the last one to be scrapped altogether.
Which begs the question of why they are even using the shuttle in the first place. ... Which brings us back to the age old question of why we haven't gone back to the moon. I know, I know, NASA has an "official" explanation for this, but I can't be bothered to go look it up. Consult my editorial title for why that is.
It has become a hot topic, of sorts, over at theusofe.com message board re: secret US spacecraft. The present state of NASA lends credibility to this theory. For those of you unfamiliar with it, consult the stories circulating the web about that UK hacker who claims to have discovered a list of "non-terrestrial officers" while hacking the US gov't computers. He's, of course, on his way to a US jail any day now, so don't go getting any crazy ideas. If NASA is really just a PR body that does run-of-the-mill experiments in space and no real pioneering stuff, then their job may be just to look as awful as possible.
Sure the fine folks who work the 9 to 5, plus, hours at NASA have no clue about this, they never do. They work hard, do their job, and go home. The power brokers behind the scenes, however, are making sure that at the end of the day, NASA is made to look like a bungling organization that can't seem to repeat it's historic moon landing a whopping 35 years later. Throw in some downed shuttles, botched satellite projects, the hilarious saga of the Hubble, and you've got one decidedly uncool space agency.
Who would want to go to Mars using that agency ? Certainly not Joe Six Pack watching Fox News and feeding from the reality tv trough. No way, sir. Go back to the Moon ? "Why bother ?" says average American, seeing that NASA produced very little in the way of stuff worthy of going back for in the public's eyes. Just the way "you know who" wants it.
Meanwhile, the "shadow government" or whatever the hell you want to call them, is busy cruising about to their moon base and Mars. Insane ? You bet. But it is a lot easier for me to accept this explanation than the one that says NASA just keeps messing up. It ain't rocket science.
End Notes
Ah, there we go. I'm off to take a nice luke warm shower and wash away my heat induced filth. Thanks for sticking around this long.
Plugs : Lesley takes a special look at Hunter S. Thompson in this Tuesday's "Grey Matters". Khyron should be back with "Ghost Files" on Wednesday, I'm sure he'll have some interesting haunting news from his absence. Thursday, SETI unveils it's new public service campaign and I've got an advance copy in Hot Newz. Friday ... the binnall report, need I say more ? Saturday, an announcement of some sort re: future BoA : Audio. More on that later as it develops. Sunday, fresh update of smoker dave for those fans of his hardcore conservative vitriol. Then, Monday with News Watch all over again. It's the binnallofamerica.com weekly workload and we'd love to have you along for the ride.
I can hear the pitter patter of the shower calling my name, so I'm outta here. Until I take to the web again to rant about something, be safe, be prepared, and be real.