June 20, 2002

EVERYTHING YOU KNOW IS WRONG

Disinformation Press has followed up the superb You Are Being Lied To with another collection of hard-hitting investigative reports that contradict almost everything we are told in the mainstream news. Everything You Know is Wrong: The Disinformation Guide To Secrets And Lies tackles the IMF, the EU, the pharmaceutical industry, domestic violence, mental illness, pornography, prostitution, corruption in high places, and much, much more... (disinfo.com)

PREVIEW THE APOCALYPSE

What with nuclear annihilation becoming a hot topic again, you'd probably be pretty interested in seeing how much of your city would lie in ruins if it was hit in the crossfire. A very bizarre little amusement called the Nuclear Blast Mapper can be found at the PBS website. The Blast Mapper lets you pick a thermonuclear bomb and drop it on any city in North America. Blast Mapper then charts the radius of destruction and radioactive fallout. I dropped a wimpy one megaton hydrogen bomb on downtown Vancouver and pretty much ruined the day for the entire lower mainland. Truly charming fun for the whole family. (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/bomb/sfeature/mapablast.html)

VERY CLASSY - CASHING IN ON GRANDMA'S DISEASE

If you've been reading this column with any regularity, you'll know that I've been following the development of the VeriChip with some interest. Also referred to by many as the "Mark of the Beast", the VeriChip is an implantable computer chip which holds information about you (like medical information in case of emergencies) and can also be equipped to receive GPS satellite systems to transmit your location (in case you're kidnapped, and anyone cares enough to come get you). The latest news is that Applied Digital Solutions, the makers of the chip, recently implanted eight Alzheimer's patients in Florida "for their own safety." Applied Digital sees this as its golden opportunity, claiming that they have up to 5,000 people on their waiting list. They plan to operate a "chipmobile" to visit senior citizen's centres in Florida, where up to 10 per cent of America's four million Alzheimer's patients live. They charge US$200 to implant the chip and $10 per month to keep your information in their computer. (Los Angeles Times)

STUPID DEAD PEOPLE

At last, the 2001 Darwin Awards have been announced. The Darwin Awards "commemorate those who improve our gene pool by removing themselves from it in really stupid ways," states the website. Last year's "winners" include a man who jumped out of his van when the brakes failed without telling his eight passengers. After one of the passengers was able to stop the van without incident, they discovered that the driver had hit his head on the pavement and died. Another incident involved two drivers both in a mad rush to file their taxes, who both decided to race through a railroad crossing before the oncoming train, and who were both killed when their vehicles collided head-on. Check it all out and more at DarwinAwards.com.

UFOs R US

The mayor of the Chilean town of San Jose De Maipo has declared the region an official UFO tourism zone in hopes of attracting tourists who want to see UFOs. After 20 years of regular sightings by villagers, the mayor proclaimed "this zone is the UFO capital of Chile. Many people have made sightings, including me personally." He plans to build two observation centres, erect signs where sightings have occurred, and offer workshops on topics such as how to photograph aliens. (Knight Ridder)

THE LOCH NESS MONSTER'S MEANER BIG BROTHER

Scientists have revealed a mysterious recording captured by U.S. Navy underwater microphones which they believe could be the sound of a giant unidentified beast living at the bottom of the ocean. The strange sounds, which have been called "Bloop" by researchers, are in the same style of other marine animal sounds, but are far more powerful than the calls made by any creature known on Earth The best theory proposed so far is that "Bloop" is some kind of deep sea monster, perhaps a many-tentacled giant squid.(New Scientist)

THAT'S GOTTA HURT

The new craze sweeping China is a technique called the "Iliarov procedure," which promises to give the vertically-challenged a few extra inches of height. Being tall is somewhat of a status symbol for the Chinese, and many believe the procedure will have long-term rewards. "I'll have a better job, a better boyfriend, and eventually a better husband. It's a long-term investment," said one 5-foot-tall woman, who was willing to go through about nine months of agonizing pain to become 5-foot-4-inches. The technique involves breaking bones in the shins and thighs, using special leg braces to pull the bones apart every day for about six months, then letting them heal at their new length. (New York Times)

STREET FIGHTING BUMS

A few weeks back we learned about a fraternity in Tennessee where the frat boys were gambling on boxing matches which they had staged between homeless people who were paid only in endless amounts of booze. Seems like two filmmakers in Las Vegas have taken this charming idea one step further, by filming intoxicated homeless people engaging in dangerous stunts and duking it out in bare-knuckled fistfights. The video is called Bumfights, and has already sold about 10,000 copies at $19.95 each. If you're desperate for "entertainment," you can order yours at bumfights.com.

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