
304: Chimp in Heat
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the International Monetary Fund director and French presidential hopeful, faces charges of attempted rape in New York City following an alleged assault on a hotel maid. The arrest occurred on an Air France flight just as Strauss-Kahn was departing for high-stakes meetings with Angela Merkel regarding the Greek debt crisis. This sudden removal of a primary challenger to Nicolas Sarkozy has sparked intense speculation regarding political coordination and the future of IMF leadership. Secondary developments include Chinese investors eyeing the privatization of Greek islands and the Euro's sharp decline against the US dollar. In domestic security, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano warned of lone wolf terrorism following the death of Osama bin Laden, while the Texas House passed a bill to criminalize indecent groping by TSA agents. Meanwhile, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled that homeowners cannot legally resist unlawful police entry, and the US House of Representatives approved an $80 billion intelligence budget. Bill Clinton and AGT International CEO Mati Kochavi also proposed a federal agency to verify internet credibility, effectively creating a truth-rating system for search results. Technical oddities and cultural moments round out the report, including the decline of soap opera dialogue and the jarring audio transitions in broadcast news packages. Azerbaijan secured a victory in the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest with the song Running Scared, while Robert Fitzpatrick spent $140,000 on advertisements predicting the May 21st Rapture. Adam Curry and John C. Dvorak analyze these shifts alongside the rollout of GPS-enabled smart shoes for dementia patients.



















