Delta Blue Squadron

Follows 2007 Phenomenon One Year Later

This time last year, Jeff Wilson of the Independent Crop Circle Researchers Association had not yet begun to collect hundreds of wheat stems in an attempt to prove the validity of a nine-circled Celtic Cross-type crop circle that suddenly appeared just off Rocky Springs Road in a wheat field on the Kefauver farm. Wilson was not even aware of the symmetrically- shaped - and beautiful, as some residents said - formation that lay hidden some 200 yards from the nearest neighbor. In fact, no one even knew of its existence until a local pilot spotted it and offered the BUZZ a chance to photograph it from 500 feet in the air. But by the first week in June 2007, Wilson and several of his ICCRA associates had determined that “The Monroe County Crop Circle” was “not man-made,” as tests on over 1,500 wheat stems showed, conclusive proof that the stems had been collapsed internally by explosions at their growth nodes.

From within, as if the sap inside the stems had suddenly overheated and burst through at the stems’ “joints,” or nodes. It was a phenomenon that Wilson said completely debunked any human involvement. Stems outside the circle were “healthy” and showed no expulsion damage. “Though we have figured out how the wheat collapsed upon itself to form this amazing pattern, we just don’t know what exactly caused the nodes to swell and burst,” Wilson said. “That’s the mystery of a crop circle.” Now a second formation has been found. Its discovery on Monday baffled its finder and the owner of the property where it now lies. On Tuesday, Knoxville television station WVLT visited the site and talked with the property owner and the neighbor. The two ladies were not identified but their faces displayed in newscasts were familiar to most residents in Madisonville.

“It was not here Sunday night,” the finder said. “But when I got up Monday morning I looked out my bathroom window and there it was.” The owner told Channel 8 that she didn’t know if aliens made the pattern but she was not afraid of such beings and would speak to them if approached. “But they better speak English,” she said. The field is leased to a fabled farmer of Monroe County, one who grew up with a reputation for looking at things squarely, without speculation. Especially when it might come to speculating what happened to his wheat crop. This farmer, however, hasn’t been seen since the formation occurred. Not as complex as last year’s crop circle, this year’s formation is more simplistic and lacks the pinanche of the 2007 event. It is basically a triangle with circles at its apexes and from the ground appears to be only flattened young wheat without the intricate woven stem configurations of the first crop circle. In fact, from the ground, the triangle and its circles are difficult to discern as anything other than haphazard random trails in the crop. Hoax? Possibly. Wilson said on Tuesday, after viewing pictures emailed by the BUZZ, that a hoax was always possible. But he also said the formation could be another unexplainable happening. “So we’ll conduct tests to make sure,” Wilson said. He said he is planning to visit Monroe County once again in a few days. Until then, the crop circle’s exact location will not be revealed. However, it can be said it is in the vicinity of the first formation, which lies along a vast underground stream of water and is believed to be near a former ancient native burial ground. The neighbor and the owner believe the crop circle was not created by humans. Their reasoning? The speed at which it appeared, its hidden location, no noticeable recent activity in the wheat field, and the fact that pranksters nowadays are a lazy lot and making a crop circle is hard work. “And what else could have made it?” the owner said, looking at the neighbor, members of her family, and the BUZZ. The question is a good one. And the answer, if determined, may even be a better one.

Challenging? Try impossible. These are the levels that drove us insane

As much fun as video games are, they can also be incredibly frustrating, especially when you’re having trouble getting past a certain level. It’s infuriating to play and replay (and replay) a section. But it’s so unbelievably gratifying once you beat it!

These are some of the Top 5 hardest levels.

‘Mike Tyson’s Punch Out!!’

“Mike Tyson’s Punch Out!!” starts off nice and easy with the aptly named Glass Joe. After him you work your way up the ranks against boxers like Piston Honda and Don Flamenco, who aren’t too hard to beat either.
Eventually you get a title bout against the champ himself - Mike Tyson.

The problem is that Tyson is about 20,000 times harder to beat than all the other fighters combined, and just one of his uppercuts is enough to knock you out cold. It’s an accomplishment to land a punch on the guy, let alone defeat him.

Gran Turismo 4′

There’s no doubt that the races in “Gran Turismo 4” can be challenging, but onein particular stands out as being especially difficult: the N�rburgring 24-hour Endurance. You’re going to need super strong thumbs, and probably an energy drink or two, if you want to win this event.

Of course, you can always cheat a little and put your car in B-spec (autopilot) mode, but where’s the fun in that?

Iraqi forces backed by U.S. warn residents to leave Mahdi Army stronghold

BAGHDAD - Iraqi soldiers for the first time warned residents in the embattled Sadr City district to leave their houses Thursday, signaling a new push by the U.S.-backed forces against Shiite extremists who have been waging street battles for seven weeks.

Iraqi soldiers, using loudspeakers, told residents in some areas of southeastern Sadr City,which were virtually abandoned, to go to nearby soccer stadiums, residents said. UNICEF says about 6,000 people have
been forced to flee their homes in Sadr City, most of them from the southeastern section.

U.S. forces have increased air power and armored patrols in an attempt to cripple Shiite militia influence in Sadr City, a slum of 2.5 million people that serves as the Baghdad base for the Mahdi Army led by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Several civilians were injured in rocket or mortar attacks that hit downtown Baghdad earlier this week.

Iranian links?
The battles started in late March after the Iraqi government opened a crackdown on militias and armed gangs in the southern city of Basra, including some groups Washington says have links to Iran.

At least four people were killed and 13 injured in clashes late Wednesday in Sadr City, Iraqi health officials said Thursday. It was not clear whether any militants were among them.

On Wednesday, Claire Hajaj, a UNICEF spokeswoman based in Jordan, said up to 150,000 people — including 75,000 children — were isolated in sections of Sadr City “cordoned off by military forces.” She said about 6,000 have fled their homes.

Iraqi soldiers on Thursday shut down a local radio station, al-Aahad, run by the Sadrists after raiding offices of the station in a neighborhood near Sadr City, police said.

Gunmen wearing police uniforms killed a police captain Wednesday after kidnapping him from a police station in Shiite neighborhood of Abu Dshir, police said Thursday. His body was found near the station.

In the southeastern Shiite city of Kut, gunmen on Thursday stormed the Technical Institute and abducted a professor, Nuri Kamil Khanjar, local police said. It was not clear why Khanjar was kidnapped.

Accused of planning to hand out political pamphlets in communist country.

HANOI, Vietnam - A Vietnamese-American will be put on trial on terrorism charges for allegedly planning to distribute anti-government pamphlets in Vietnam, an official said Thursday.

Nguyen Quoc Quan, of Sacramento, Calif., and Vietnamese nationals Nguyen Hai and Nguyen The Vu face jail terms of up to seven years if convicted. Their trial begins Tuesday at the People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City, Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung said.

The three were arrested last November at a house in Ho Chi Minh City along with Truong Van Ba, an American, and Nguyen Thi Thanh Van, a French national. Authorities allegedly found them preparing to circulate anti-government pamphlets on behalf of Viet Tan, a California-based pro-democracy group that Vietnam considers a terrorist organization.

Nonviolent group?
Viet Tan says it promotes nonviolent political change in Vietnam, and U.S. Ambassador Michael Michalak has said he has seen no evidence the group is engaged in terrorism.

Ba, whose American name is Leon Truong, and Van were released in December.

Vietnamese authorities have said Quan entered the country on a forged Cambodian passport.

Communist Vietnam does not tolerate any form of dissent, which it considers a threat against its one-party rule.

LAKE ARROWHEAD, Calif. —

A coyote grabbed a 2-year-old girl by
the head and tried to drag her from the front yard of her mountain home
in the third incident of a coyote threatening a small child in Southern
California in five days, authorities said.

The coyote attacked the girl around noon Tuesday when her mother,
Melissa Rowley, went inside the home for a moment to put away a camera,
the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said in an incident
report.

Rowley came out of the house and saw the coyote dragging her
daughter towards a street. She ran towards her daughter, and the animal
released the girl and ran away, said sheriff’s spokeswoman Arden
Wiltshire.

Rowley took her daughter to a hospital where the toddler was treated
for several punctures to the head and neck area, and a laceration on
her mouth. She was then flown to Loma Linda University Hospital for
further treatment, although her injuries were not life-threatening.

State Fish and Game wardens and county animal control authorities
set traps for the coyote and were monitoring the neighborhood high in
the San Bernardino Mountains about 65 miles miles northeast of Los
Angeles.

On Friday, a nanny pulled a 2-year-old girl from the jaws of a
coyote at Alterra Park in Chino Hills, a San Bernardino County
community about 30 miles east of Los Angeles. The girl suffered
puncture wounds to her buttocks and was treated at a hospital.

A coyote came after another toddler in the same park Sunday. The child’s father kicked and chased the coyote away.

Alterra Park is near Chino Hills State Park, a natural open space of thousands of acres spanning nearly 31 miles.