Article: 262148 of talk.bizarre
From: redun@shore.net (Aaron Price)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc,alt.current-events.usa,alt.current-events.russia,talk.bizarre
Subject: FlashByte: Silicon vs. Gold
Date: 8 Dec 1995 06:46:28 GMT
Organization: North Shore Access/Eco Software, Inc; (info@shore.net)
Lines: 172
Message-ID: <4a8n04$ip9@shore.shore.net>
Status: O
X-Status:
FlashByte 12-8-95
00:30cst ; 06:30 gmt
http://www.shore.net/~redun/
See end for subscription info.. (free)
Soundbyte: An invisible man on censorship of the weak.
1. Galileo takes a peek inside Jupiter's tummy.
2. "Black Jack" terrorizes electronic gizmos with hick boredom.
3. Communists dominate apathetic Russian voters.
4. French President pays the price of unrest.
5. The great newsprint caper.
6. A meter maid mob in New Zealand.
7. Guatemalan army waits to loot while mountain waits to erupt.
8. General Patton remembered.
9. German grass is green to political refugees.
10. Toronto refuses Shell oil because of Nigerian ties.
11. The US Army takes over the media, from the inside.
12. Silicon vs. Gold.
13. Showgirls, Jade, bad sex, and sour apples.
14. Indian welcome wagon sends KFC packing their pot pies.
15. Japanese ad refutes Japanese war crimes.
16. Affordable cable in China.
17. South Korea sleeps with one eye open this winter.
"It's a very strange phenomenon because...censorship is a weapon
always used against the weakest elements in a society and...nowadays
it is those groups who seek censorship on their own behalf."
- British author-in-hiding Salman Rushdie
1. - Scientists at NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory are getting
drunk tonight celebrating Galileo's attack on Jupiter. A cone shaped probe
from the spacecraft penetrated 125 miles in the atmosphere of the planet
at a speed of 106,000 mph, retarded by a parachute. Data should be
transmitted for 75 minutes until the craft is either crushed or
disintegrated. The info will then be relayed to earth and results will be
known sometime in mid December. (CNN)
2. - "Black Jack" is a handyman by day, and FCC nightmare by night. In
Wisconsin he terrorizes his local neighborhood by broadcasting over a
modified and superpowered CB radio that infiltrates resident's TV's,
radios, telephones, and even baby monitors. He challenges his neighbors to
"come suck mud from between my toes" and curses regularly. One victim's
children run from the room when they hear his voice thinking he is a ghost
in their electronics. Local officials are trying to find a way to silence
the man who has been using the airwaves as his attention vehicle for years
now. * Stern, eat your heart out.. (wire)
3. - In Russia the Communist Party is showing a comfortable lead in polls
about a week before the election of Russia's parliament, the Duma.
However, since only about 1/2 of all voters are expected to take part in
the election all polls are being considered unrealiable. Over 43 parties
have candidates on the ballot, making any sort of prediction about as
accurate as predicting how long the next Tyson fight will last. (wire)
4. - French President Chirac is sliding in popularity polls through France
this month. After keeping strong support after months of facing
international pressure over nuclear testing, Chirac is falling quickly
thanks largely to a labor squabble. Le Parisien newspaper puts his
popularity rating at 34%, down from 42% one month ago. A wave of strikes
and protests have caused great trouble in France over transportation labor
issues. (wire)
5. - Two men have been convicted of stealing 6 tons of newsprint from the
Boston Globe last June. One man was a fulltime employee while the other
was a transportation contractor for the newspaper. * I'd hate to have seen
the cage they planned on lining with that.. (Boston Globe)
6. - In New Zealand two parking meter clerks were jailed for 2 1/2 years
after being convicted of stealing $540,000 in parking meter coins. After
being jailed he confessed to using a false alias and said he was an
American Vietnam War deserter living in New Zealand since the war. * It's
the A-Team of meter maids! (wire)
7. - In Guatemala thousands of peasants refuse to evacuate in the face of
a volcano threatening to erupt. 12,000 people may be forced to leave if
the Cerro Negro volcano erupts. In 1992 the families returned home from a
similar forced evacuation to find their houses looted and their livestock
stolen. (wire)
8. - One of the final 50'th anniversary ceremonies of World War Two took
place in Luxembourg today. A ceremony at General George Patton's grave
noted his liberation of Luxembourg and heroic counterattack during the
Battle of the Bulge. He lies in a grave with thousands of his men who fell
during that battle with a simple white cross engraved with his name.
(wire)
9. - The number of people seeking political asylum in German this year has
risen to 117,663. A rise in recent months in asylum seekers from Serbia,
Montenegro, and Turkey have caused November's total alone to surpass the
13,000 mark. (German News Team)
10. - The civic government of Toronto has refused Shell's $900,000 bid to
provide fuel for city vehicles even though it was the lowest bid. Voting
17-15 the Metro Toronto council rejected the offer because of Shell's
affiliation with activities in Nigeria. Recently Nigeria has become the
subject of international protests over the execution of political
activists without a fair trial. * Way to go, Toronto! Hit 'em in the
pocketbooks. It worked with South Africa-maybe we can get Nigeria to come
around eventually. Too bad in the US ethics take a back seat to the bottom
line. (wire)
11. - "Stormin" Norman Schwartzkopf signed a contract with NBC to be their
military analyst. The commander of coalition forces in Desert Storm will
also be a special correspondent on "NBC Nightly News" as NBC gears up for
coverage of the Bosnian peace mission. * Will we ever see Schwartzkopf
interview Shalikashvili? I'd hate to be the teleprompter on that one..
12. - Cyberhipsters will be running for their lives if more efficient
production techniques are not found for creating silicon wafers. A
shortage of silicon is expected in 1996 for about 9-10 months. By the year
2000 a considerable shortage of 1,319,000 200mm wafers is expected,
according to Dataquest. * My advice: Drop Netscape and buy stock in
silicon mining companies... (wire)
13. - The "Bad Sex Prize" is given every year to the author who creates
the worst sexual scene in print. It is handed out by a British literary
magazine every year at a high class ceremony where the recipient usually
never arrives to pick up the award. This year the award is going to Philip
Kerr's "Gridiron", a futuristic thriller. Also, the Hollywood Women's
Press Club has given its "Sour Apple" award for worst portrayal of women
to screenwriter Joe Eszterhas. He wrote "Showgirls" and "Jade". Believe it
or not, he plans to show up for the award. (wire)
14. - India's first Kentucky Fried Chicken was shut down by authorities
barely a week after opening. The health inspector of Delhi ordered the
store closed after two flies were found buzzing around an empty garbage
can outside the backdoor of the store. Delhi does not require permits for
normal shops to sell food. The inspector told KFC when it was opening that
he would close it down because it sells "junk food". * Can we shut down
politicians who "talk junk" and attract flies by just opening their mouth?
(Asia Week)
15. - The New York Times decided not to publish an advertisement by a
Japanese group claiming that World War Two atrocities by their country
never occured. The full page ad, denying the rape of Nanking and other
incidents, would have cost $62,000. * Next they'll head to USENET to get
their message across... (wire)
16. - China Central Television has begun offering 4 new susbcription
channels for it's viewers. CCTV is the only Chinese television network and
is selling a movie, culture, art, and a miscellaneous channel for between
12 cents and 36 cents a month. That is believed to be the cheapest in the
world for cable television. * Propaganda is always cheap warfare... (wire)
17. - South Korea has placed 650,000 troops on an increased alert
Thursday. This is in response to fear that North Korea could begin
provoking border clashes this winter. The alert is expected to last until
April. Extensive floods have ravaged North Korea's already poor
agriculture industry leaving them 2.5 million tons of grain short to feed
24 million people. Despite this, North Korea has continued an arms build
up and has deployed fighter aircraft and long range artillery to the DMZ.
* With US eyes on Bosnia and isolationists in congress, the South Korean
government in scandal over 1980's oppression, China's recent threats
toward Tiawan, and a million+ man army bearing down on them from the
north-this Christmas could be a lonely one for the people in Seoul...
(wire)
To subscribe to FlashByte (free) send your e-mail address to redun@shore.net.
Do not redistribute without permission(usually granted) from me. Thanks.
Also at http://www.shore.net/~redun/ with back issues.
(C)opyright 1995 Aaron Price