• News/Talk
  • Music
  • Entertainment

Good News, Bad News, No News

King Kong Covers, Young Gun Runners

Full Episode Audio
Larger view
LeBron James and Gisele Bundchen on cover of Vogue
(Vogue Magazine)
Enlarge This Image

1. The New York Times reports that the main American supplier of munitions to Afghanistan's army and police forces is a company in Miami Beach whose president is a 22-year-old guy. Vice president is a 25-year-old licensed masseur. The weapons they're selling are obsolete and defective. Some are more than 40 years old, Soviet bloc stuff. Some weapons are made in China. Crappy stuff... But is this good news, bad news or no news?

2. Researchers have unearthed a recording of the human voice, made by a little-known Frenchman. The recording predates Thomas Edison's phonograph by nearly two decades. The Frenchman made this recording by etching sound waves onto blackened sheets of paper. They've never been turned back into sound until now. Is this good news, bad news or no news?

3. The new Vogue magazine cover features basketball star LeBron James snarling, baring his teeth, with his arm around the waist of Brazilian model Gisele Bundchen. Critics call the cover racist, saying it purposely echoes the old King Kong movie poster of Kong baring his teeth and clutching Fay Wray around the waist. Is this debate good, bad or no news?

  • Music Bridge:
    Dunkin' In the Deep
    Artist: Stanton Moore
    CD: III (Telarc)
More stories from our Good News, Bad News, No News series

Comments

  • Comment | Refresh

  • By Fredrick Johnson

    08/13/2009

    Dear Friend,

    Compliments of the day to you.

    My name is Fredrick Johnson, Personal Assistant to Chief James Ibori. The name may sound strange to you but he was the immediate past executive Governor of the oil rich state of Delta in Nigeria. By the time he was in office, I was in charge of his finance portfolio and based in UK. He had a lot of money stocked in a private house in London and I was looking after it. Sometime in 2006, my boss had some problem in Nigeria and he was nabbed in London and men of Scotland yard came after the cash. The news and picture was all over UK and beyond.

    My boss and his wife were arrested and extradited to Nigeria and he is currently facing prosecution.
    But I escaped arrest and definitely not empty handed. I managed to package and disguise the sum of $24m which I deposited with a security company as diplomatic valuables(Not as cash) and the security company do not know the actual content of the deposited box. My boss himself is not aware that I was able to grab some money out of the billions of stocked money before the arrival of police.
    I was later apprehended and deported back to Nigeria with a ban placed on me never to return to England again. All my finger prints were taken.

    I want you to help me collect this deposit. I will feed you with more information on how to collect and handle the money.
    I am willing to compensate you with 25% of the total money for your time and assistance while the remaining 75% will be reserved for me in safe keeping while I decide whether to invest it in your country or have it deposited in a bank there.

    This message requires utmost confidentiality as you and me are the only ones that knows about the subject matter.
    Please treat this matter with urgency as my health is fast detoriating as a result of the ordeal I went through. I have a terribly high blood pressure.

    I expect to hear from you as soon as possible.

    Thanks,
    Fredrick Johnson.

    NB: Please you and I are the only people that know the actual
    content of this trunk box, pls do not disclose it to any one. And get back to me for more information and directives. I will equip you with the certificate of deposit issued by the security company and a power of attorney to enable you have a smooth transaction.

    By Ken Jaffe

    03/29/2008

    It sounds like the people who saw the King Kong analogy in this picture are the ones who harbor racist tendencies. They would be well served to look a bit deeper into themselves, a la Michael Richards, to see what kinds of subconcious prejudices they carry.

  • Post a Comment: Please be civil, brief and relevant.

    Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. All comments are moderated. Weekend America reserves the right to edit any comments on this site and to read them on the air if they are extra-interesting. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting.

      Form is no longer active

     

    You must be 13 or over to submit information to American Public Media. The information entered into this form will not be used to send unsolicited email and will not be sold to a third party. For more information see Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Download Weekend America

Weekend Weather

From the January 31 broadcast

Support American Public Media with your Amazon.com purchases
Search Amazon.com:
Keywords:
 ©2015 American Public Media