Thousands of dolphins blocked the suspected Somali pirate ships when they were trying to attack Chinese merchant ships passing the Gulf of Aden, the China Radio International reported on Monday.
This Animal Farm book by George Orwell was always one of my favorites to read when I was back in school. I have never watched this animated movie of the book, so hopefully it is decent. You can read about this movie on the Wikipedia page or watch the cartoon movie (or simply click the picture above).
That ending was altered in the 1955 animated version, which removed the humans, leaving only the nasty pigs. Another example of Hollywood butchering great literature? Yes, but in this case the film's secret producer was the Central Intelligence Agency.
The C.I.A., it seems, was worried that the public might be too influenced by Orwell's pox-on-both-their-houses critique of the capitalist humans and Communist pigs. So after his death in 1950, agents were dispatched (by none other than E. Howard Hunt, later of Watergate fame) to buy the film rights to ''Animal Farm'' from his widow to make its message more overtly anti-Communist.
On Cybertron, the Autobots are hosting a peace conference for two neighboring planets, Xetaxxis and Lanarq, which have been at war for centuries and will wipe each other out within a generation, as explained by Melkorr. Spike Witwicky asks the leaders of the two delegations to shake hands. They take the opportunity to grapple with each other. Rodimus Prime remarks that it's going well so far.
Elsewhere, Predaking detects a strange signal of Quintesson origin. He contacts Cyclonus, who intends to meet him at the coordinates. However, Perceptor has also detected the signal, and he sends Sky Lynx, who is carrying Blaster and Outback, to investigate. The foliage is too thick for Sky Lynx to land, so Blaster and Outback head out on foot. Blaster ejects Steeljaw and Ramhorn to help in the search. Meanwhile, Predaking separates into the Predacons to cover more ground. The Autobots are suddenly attacked by vines, but are able to free themselves and find the source of the signal, a strange golden cylinder. Just then, a tree nearly falls on the device, and Outback blasts it, causing the device to activate. The Autobots learn that the cylinder is a Quintesson journal, a record of their commercial activities on various planets. The Predacons then arrive and attack. Sky Lynx arrives to rescue the Autobots, and the Predacons unite. The Autobots are able to board Sky Lynx and escape, only to be attacked by Cyclonus and the Sweeps. Suddenly, an energy field grabs Sky Lynx through an unseen warp gate, which closes.
On the other side of the warp gate, a Quintesson ship captures Sky Lynx, disabling his ability to transform. The Quintessons reclaim the journal and take Outback, Blaster, and the cassettes prisoner. Outback is able to trick a Sharkticon into opening the cell for some energon, and Blaster then...uh, blasts the Sharkticon. Outback grabs the journal, and the Autobots escape aboard Sky Lynx, only to discover that Galvatron, Cyclonus, the Sweeps, and Predaking have located them. The Decepticons manage to steal the journal and flee. At the peace conference, the two delegations leave, intending to purchase doomsday weapons from their suppliers...the Quintessons.
On an unnamed planet, the Decepticons begin to examine the journal. Upon discovering it is economic in nature, Galvatron is angry—well, angrier than usual. However, the Autobots have tracked the Decepticons down, and they learn that the war between Xettaxis and Lanarq is among the journal's archives. Knowing that this could end the war, the Autobots attempt to steal the journal back, only for the Quintessons to steal it back again. On Cybertron, the delegations begin fighting each other. Rodimus is so frustrated that the Autobot leader fires his weapon and orders the two delegations to sit down. Furious, the Xettaxin and Lanarqen leaders request the Quintessons to bring their omega bombs. The Quintessons decide that they will deliver both bombs once they have been paid. However, the Autobots manage to break into their ship and steal back the journal.
Arriving on Cybertron, Blaster and Outback show the recordings to the delegations, who are horrified to discover that their worlds have suffered to finance the Quintessons. Having been found out, the Quintessons contact the peace conference, announcing that they will deliver the omega bombs—right into Xettaxis and Lanarq. This is a big mistake on the Quintessons' part, for they're passing right by Cybertron at that moment. Rodimus and Ultra Magnus jump aboard Sky Lynx and follow the Quintessons, destroying their ship before the bombs can be launched. On Cybertron, a peace is negotiated between Xettaxis and Lanarq. However, Rodimus notes that the only real winners of the conflict were the Quintessons.
Not to be outdone, The Jersey Devil also wrote about the similarities between Cobra and Al-Qaeda.First, we need to start with Osama Bin Laden (though this could easily apply to any 'personality terrorist' like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi). We all know what he looks like from the FBI photos we have of Bin Laden. He looks like a diabetic old man. He looks like the smelly old guy that sits across from your Grandpa at the nursing home. Compare that to the look of Cobra Commander from the GI Joe comics and cartoons:
Now if Bin Laden were to appear in videotapes on Al-Jazeera looking like Cobra Commander, you'd bet people would be pretty frightened. Cobra Commander looks like... well, evil.
Who knew that a poorly-animated 1980's cartoon was secretly preparing us for the War on Terror? Yes, I'm referring to "G.I. Joe - A Real American Hero," which during its 1985-6 television run introduced us to a shadowy conflict that pitted the U.S. military's best and brightest - okay, maybe that's laying it on a little thick for the likes of Shipwrecked or Sergeant Slaughter - against a global terrorist organization known as COBRA.
