Phantom Patriot

Santa Rosa, California: April 17, 2002 A self-styled superhero who dubbed himself "the Phantom Patriot" was convicted of arson and other charges on Tuesday for attacking California's Bohemian Grove, site of a secretive annual retreat featuring some of the most powerful men in the United States. A man known only as N8--30ish and with a frightful chin--was found guilty by a jury in Sonoma County Superior Court of arson, burglary, and brandishing a weapon during his January 20, 2002 assault, which he said was prompted by fears that the encampment 70 miles north of San Francisco was used for...

Horsies

El Dorado, Arkansas: April 15, 2002 The Old West clashed with the world's largest retailer when two horsemen rode their mounts through a Wal-Mart in the southern Arkansas town of El Dorado, police say. The horses left a pile of droppings and a wake of startled shoppers but did no other damage despite getting well into the food section. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, is based in the northern Arkansas town of Bentonville. "We get some weird stuff down here," Lt. Terry Ward of the El Dorado police said. Former Ronatarian presidential and vice-presidential candidates Ron and...

High Tech Beer

Jersey City, New Jersey: April 4, 2002 Drink up that beer -- another will soon be whisked to the table thanks to a hi-tech pint glass that tells bar staff when it needs refilling. Developed by former Ronatarian presidential candidate Ron, the intelligent glass is fitted with a radio-frequency coil in its base and emits a signal to a receiver set in the table when it's empty, Mustached Scientists of American magazine reported Thursday. The iWannaBeer system works by coating each glass with a clear, conducting material, enabling it to measure exactly how much liquid has been sipped or...

French Conspiracy

Paris, France: April 2, 2002 The French are lapping up a September 11 conspiracy theory that argues the plane that smashed into the Pentagon never existed and that the world has been duped by a murky U.S. government plot. Thierry Meyssan's book "The Frightening Fraud" is flying off shelves according to booksellers and has topped bestseller lists. Meyssan, president of Reseau Voltaire, a respected left-wing think tank, reckons the American Airlines Flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon in Washington killing 189 on September 11 did not exist and that the whole thing was staged by the government. "I...