Day: February 23, 2015

MAY WE INTERRUPT THIS CRIME SHOW FOR A UFO SIGHTING?

Strange news broke early in February and thanks to an article by Lee Speigel in the HUFFINGTON POST and subsequent link by Clyde Lewis, the story is going viral online..

The story first appeared in PERU THIS WEEK on February 11. Reporting by Hillary Ojeda about the footage posted on YOUTUBE and now being shared around the world:

The video footage was uploaded by Eduardo Chávez Guerra to YouTube today and has since been viewed more than 2,600 times.

Reggiardo had just begun filming for his program “Alto al crimen” when his camera man got distracted by something floating in the distant sky. They postponed filming a few moments to take a better look at the floating object.

The YouTube clip’s description reads, “[d]uring the recording of the ‘Stop Crime’ program, in the heart of Miraflores, at 10:30 am, was distinguished in the sky a strange hovering object.”

Onlookers in the video shout their wild suggestions and estimations for the UFO and concluded it could not be a plane for the way it was floating.

The video here:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFQYUYOubqc?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent]At the time the original story was written, the video was viewed under 3000 times. Today that number is closing in on one million..

February 23, 2015
THE VATICAN ON HIGH ALERT

We have been speaking of the ISIS threat to the Vatican and Pope Francis for several weeks now.. The ‘prophecy of the Popes’ and the visions of Nostradamus aside, the real news is very blunt and showcases how dangerous of a time we live in..

USA TODAY reports on the tumultuous turmoil of warnings in Italy and the VATICAN.. a few snippets of text that are worth reading:

The Italian government is on high alert after threats from the Islamic State called Italy “the nation signed with the blood of the cross.” And the country would probably need help to confront the militant group.

“The risks are real,” said Sabrina Magris, president of the International University Schoolof Rome and Florence, the only European institution that prepares negotiators for hostage and terror threats. “The goal may be an actual attack of some kind or simply using threats to create an atmosphere of fear. But the risks shouldn’t be underestimated.”

The Vatican has made no official comment about being a potential target for the Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS, or other extremist groups, and Pope Francis resists many security measures, delving into crowds whenever possible.

At Sunday’s Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, extra security was evident. Police patrolled the area and were stationed around the Vatican’s perimeter.

There is much more to the story.. you can read the NIGHT TERROR NEWS archive to discover some other stories printed concerning the dangerous threats to the VATICAN from terrorists..

But reading all of this, I was reminded of one image from years back when Pope Francis first became Pope.. In 2014, Pope Francis released doves of Peace.. but the doves were attacked by crows–the sign seemed to be inescapable.. And seemingly since, bad news has come for the world and a darker force, some may argue, has taken over..

February 23, 2015
A FAMED INTERNET PERSON COMMITS SUICIDE

Draven Rodriguez didn’t want a yearbook image like all others..so he made himself different, posing with his cat and laser lights. It went on to become one of those ‘things of the internet,’ the little pieces of pop culture that seem to catch on and stick. Although for Rodriguez, this senior portrait of fame has ended very badly: News reports abounded this weekend that he committed suicide..

According to reports, he was 17 and took his own life on Thursday last week. The New York teen is now being mourned online, the same place where his image went viral only months ago.

There are also endless theories popping up in comments sections on stories concerning why Rodriguez died.. But this is the nature of suicide and stories like this: we don’t know.. we will never know, and quite frankly, perhaps we should not know.

Whether he intended the world to see his image or just to make high school fame, his creativity and fearlessness should be appreciated and applauded.

But the thing I fear the most for the family, the part that touches my heart more than anything else, is that most people who share the image of this innocent young man will never know the tragic outcome of his fate from days ago.. they will share his image and it will live on in Internet infamy.. it will continue to exist in the domain of the meme..

And all the while, the young man left his family and this world, took his own life, and ended whatever ordeal he was dealing with on this planet.. His family, the obituary said, cherished him. What family wouldn’t cherish an amazing soul in their lives? What parents wouldn’t give every bit of their love and support to a child?

I ponder this: Did internet fame somehow haunt this young man? Did his meme becoming a shared and viral picture destroy him, even though he only did it to celebrate the dare to be different and the joy of being creative? Did the world somehow stomp him down?

Only he knew that…

No words are adequate for suicide, and I would not even pretend to articulate the morals or implications of Rodriguez’s decision. I think we know them already..

February 23, 2015