He's baaaacckkk! Pierre Salinger, (still picking at the bits of egg left on his face since his last revelation), has more information regarding the supposed missile attack that brought down Flight 800. Maybe this time he's got it right. . .
Late last year someone pulled a report off the internet, gave it to Salinger, who established himself as Newbie Number One in rushing to the press with this "secret inside information" that any web-wise surfer could find with a few mouse clicks. This initial document was apparently uploaded to the web by retired United Airlines Pilot Richard Russell (or someone who knew him). The FBI paid Mr. Russell a little visit and confiscated, among other things, a videotape of radar images reportedly showing a fast-moving blip on a collision course with the airliner.
(They used to blame stuff like this on swamp gas.)
Not to be discouraged, Mr. Salinger (former press secretary to President Kennedy and erstwhile teevee newsman) continued to scrounge around from his posh Paris digs and has resurfaced with a 62-page report that points to an errant missile from a Navy training exercise as the reason for 230 people meeting a horrifying death.
But the military just says "no." They wouldn't lie to us would they?
Did you notice a few months back that the FAA, as part of its new safety recommendations included missile detection radar on some overseas flights? They withdrew this fast when speculation about Flight 800's demise by friendly fire was rekindled.
Meanwhile, military officials rock back and forth on their heels, stare at the ceiling and whistle a bit. Swamp gas. . .that's right. Musta been a bad night for swamp gas.
Usually one would consider a library to be a bastian of free speech and the last place one would encounter censorship these days. Enter the internet. Denver metropolitan libraries have installed computers wired to the web and are finding, (to their surprise?) that people are (Gasp!) cruising for porn. Sometimes for hours at a time.
Library officials don't consider this particular kind of research, uh, "bona-fide." Some of these porn pursuers are bookmarking all the "good" sites and when little Johnnie sits down to research his science project he can easily get an eyeful. So while President Clinton suggests that every child should have access to the internet, librarians and others are trying to figure out how to limit that access.
A group of clucking worrywarts calling themselves "Enough is Enough" is responsible for the ridiculous Communications Decency Act last year (and being voted on now).
Enough is enough is right. For every tongue-wagging net-nannie wannbe there will probably be activists on the other side of the issue suggesting that: a) censorship of the internet is a laughable concept; and b) it is censorship that is truly obscene.
The United Nations says the United States owes them money. Some suggest the United Nations owes the United States money. I think they should close the operation, sell the buildings to Donald Trump and let him set up a tacky casino or something.
The world wouldn't be any worse off for it. Why must we continue to contribute to the annual hundred-thousand dollar-plus pension of ex-Nazi Kurt Waldheim, for example? Because the U.N. wants us to?
In the era of the Cold War, (probably before most of you were born), The United Nations may have served a purpose. We live in different times now, where global communication is no longer dependent upon envoys with their complete immunity, diplomatic pouches and parking tickets.
The U.N. is an expensive anachronism that must constantly stir up trouble in order to justify its own existence. The sooner we can rid ourselves, or at least our native soil of this albatross the better.
"No Civilization can progress to the stability of continuous survival without certain and sure command of knowledge such as that contained in Dianetics." L. Ron Hubbard.
Now--show him the money, as Tom Cruise (Scientologist apologist) would say.
Scientology, in case you've been asleep, is the religion (actually, a non-profit entity as seen through the eyes of the I.R.S.) that former bad science fiction writer Hubbard dreamed up. And more power to him. I have to respect somebody who can figure out a way not only to sell his sci-fi yarns, but avoid paying taxes on the proceeds. That's pretty slick I freely admit.
At least one Boulder Colorado resident, Larry Wollersheim doesn't share my capitalistic admiration for L. Ron's operation and had a major run-in with the Scientologists in August of '95. Seems Larry, a former Scientologist who had reached the upper levels of the cult's teachings, was in possession of some "sacred writings" (how does one tell the difference from the pulp tales?) that he spewed all over the internet in gross violation of copyright law.
The Church of Scientology won a copyright infringement judgement against him and Wollersheim's equipment was, with the cooperation of U.S. Government Marshalls, confiscated. Before the courts could order the hardware returned, the Scientologists had toasted the hard drives.
(I think if we come away from this with nothing else, it serves as a reminder that we should all back up our hard drives regularly and store off-site.)
Mr. Wollersheim counter-sued and won. Won big: 4.6 million bucks. Righteous cash. Church zealots vow he "won't live to collect." Meanwhile Larry intends to make a rucus outside The Oscars. Why? Haven't you heard? The Scientologists are taking over Hollywood!
Have the wheels come off the American justice system or are they just grinding too slowly? We have a killer walking around the golf course (O.J.), a suspected killer refusing to answer to the police strolling around Boulder (John Ramsey) and Timothy McVeigh's trial has turned into a complete joke before it has even started.
Are we getting more "justice" in the mainstream and tabloid press than we are in the courtrooms? The public is growing weary of the accused having more rights at trial than the victims and print media is capitalizing on this frustration--especially the tabloids.
The Dallas Morning News, Newsweek and Playboy all report that Timothy McVeigh has already confessed. His lawyers are trying to tapdance and regroup, but the collective American mind might be already made up.
Defense attorneys are quick to cry: "Let's not try this case in the media." But it's starting to look like the only place "justice" can prevail is in the press these days. The courts have failed to keep pace with life as we are now forced to live it: fast.