Diving mystery

In my weekly dispatch from Whitley Strieber's UnknownCountry.com site, I saw this odd story regarding a Coast Guard dive in the Arctic Ocean where two divers were sucked down uncontrollably during a dive. A report is expected sometime soon.

Brutal dictator Pinochet dies on Human Rights Day

Isn't it ironic (doncha think?) that murderous dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet died in his native Chile on International Human Rights Day? I think so. Rent the 1982 film "Missing" with Sissy Spacek and Jack Lemmon to get a sense of what it was like in Chile leading up to Pinochet's overthrow of the democratically-elected Allende government on Sept. 11, 1973.

From the UK Independent: "This is a moment of freedom, of joy, and of catharsis for an entire nation that lived through one of the worst dictatorships of all of Latin America," said Daniela Lillo, a mother and actress who stood in Santiago's Plaza Italia square, with a glass of champagne in hand.
With her four-year-old daughter in tow, she said her daughter she would never forget this day and her first sip of champagne.
But others say they were disappointed that Pinochet never saw his day in court for the 3,200 deaths and disappearances that took place under his rule.
"Pinochet has died without ever served justice," said Carmen Soria, the daughter of a Spanish diplomat assassinated during the dictatorship. "The courts and four government of the Concertacion [Chile's ruling left-wing coalition] were not able to condemn Pinochet.
It is ironic that he also died on the International Day for Human Rights. "This day is bittersweet because we weren't able to make him spend a single day in jail," lamented Ximena Muñoz, a human rights activist for an association for Chile's disappeared.
"Still, he's been judged by the public and that will go down in history, so today he is dead and you see today that it's a carnival for Chile's people. The dictator has died. Now we must forge ahead to try the rest of the assassins and torturers of his era."
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Remember the desaparecidos.

Don't take the chip

This Toronto Star story basically lays it out - we will all be microchipped within the next 50 or so years. In fact, I was at the bank the other day because I hadn't received my ATM card in the mail after two weeks and I was concerned it may have been stolen. The bank employee joked that it won't be a problem in the near future because we'll all be chipped. No sir, not me!

That bizarre Air Force monument in D.C.

I was in Washington, D.C. over the Thanksgiving holiday and while driving through the city, couldn't help but notice that hideous, horned Air Force monument that dominates the skyline. I mean it's awful. D.C. report Wayne Madsen shares his thoughts on the monument and how it's rather controversial.

Richards rant staged?

Ever since first hearing about actor Michael Richards' racist rant at a West Hollywood comedy club a few weeks back, I've been somewhat suspicious. Surely, Richards would know someone would record the rant or at least tell the media about it. And why do it right as the seventh season of "Seinfeld" is being released on DVD (we've got our copy and it's awesome!)? Well, the always insightful Paul Joseph Watson has some thoughts on this rant that he strongly believes was staged to help boost sales of the DVD and get his name back in the media spotlight, even if the publicity is negative. I mean, Richards has always been a bit of a loose cannon, from his days on "Fridays" to that bizarre performance in "Weird Al" Yankovic's "UHF" film from 1989.

And I can't forget to add that Michael Richards is a 33rd-degree Scottish Rite Freemason. Here's more on that here.