*March 20, 2008, Unrest in Tibet: The Xinhua news agency reports for the first time that protests have spread to neighbouring provinces of Sichuan and Gansu as the Chinese authorities attempt to regain control. The Dalai Lama offers to meet with senior Chinese officials including the President of the People's Republic of China Hu Jintao. China dispatches convoys to Tibet consisting of thousands of soldiers and hundreds of police vehicles.
*March 24, 2008, The United States Department of Justice approves the merger of Sirius(Dog Star) Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio.
-The Olympic Flame of the 2008 Summer Olympics is lit in Olympia, despite disruption by three protesters from Reporters Without Borders.
*March 26, 2008, The Space Shuttle Endeavour lands at Cape Canaveral, Florida in a rare nighttime landing ending a 16-day mission to the International Space Station.
-Ford Motor Company announces it will sell its British luxury-car brands Jaguar and Land Rover to India's Tata Motors for $2.3 billion.
*April 1, 2008, April Fool's Day
*April 4, 2008, The United States Department of State renews the contract of Blackwater Worldwide to provide security in Iraq despite a number of ongoing investigations
-The luxury yacht Le Ponant is seized by pirates off the Somalian coast.
*April 7, 2008, The Kansas Jayhawks(Horus/Phoenix) defeat the Memphis Tigers in overtime, 75-68, to win the 2008 U.S. Division I men's college basketball championship.
-Golden Gate(GG/77/OZ/Pan) is the site of a Tibet demonstration. Also displaying many Octagons in the same place of the 0 and 8's.
-Release of Street Kings.
Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves) is a disillusioned L.A. Police Officer, rarely playing by the rules and haunted by the death of his wife. All of the cops in Ludlow's unit, including their captain, Jack Wander (Forest Whitaker), bend and break the rules of conduct on a regular basis. Their intention is often to deal with crime in a manner that they perceive to be more efficient, which leads them to routinely lie, falsify reports and manipulate evidence to cover up for their wrong-doings.
-The Olympic torch is extinguished by officials as police are confronted by protesters during the Olympic torch relay through Paris.
-U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton calls on President George W. Bush to boycott the opening ceremony at the Summer Olympics in Beijing.
-The head of the International Olympic Committee Jacques Rogge says he's "very concerned" about unrest in Tibet and other issues associated with the Summer Olympics.
-The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the Summer Olympiad claims that the "Olympic torch has received a warm welcome worldwide."
*April 9, 2008, The Olympic torch relay through San Francisco descends into confusion as the first runner in the elaborately planned relay disappears into a warehouse on a waterfront pier.
*April 10, 2008, Frontier Airlines files for bankruptcy protection.
-The European Parliament passes a resolution in favor of a boycott of the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympiad.
-IOC president Jacques Rogge calls for China to respect its commitment to improve human rights ahead of the Beijing Games.
-The Olympic torch arrives in Buenos Aires for the Olympic torch relay under heavy security.
*April 11, 2008, Somalian pirates release 30 hostages (mostly French) kidnapped aboard Le Ponant in the Gulf of Aden a week ago.
-Release of 21.
MIT student Ben Campbell is accepted into Harvard Medical School, but he cannot afford the $300,000 tuition. He is interviewed as a potential candidate for the prestigious Robinson Scholarship, which will pay for all his school-related expenses. Despite boasting stats such as a 1590 SAT score, 44 MCAT score, and a 4.0 GPA at MIT, Ben is told that competition for the scholarship is very fierce. The recruiter tells him that he needs to to write an essay which will make him stand out; in other words, an essay which will dazzle him.
*April 13, 2008, Robert Zoellick, the president of the World Bank, calls for immediate action to tackle rising food prices which have caused rioting in several countries.
*April 14, 2008, Delta Air Lines reaches an agreement with Northwest Airlines to take over Northwest and create the world's biggest airline.
-The United States begins occupying its new US$736 million embassy in Iraq, one of the largest embassies in the world. Presently under construction, it is approximately as large as the Vatican City and will permanently employ thousands of Americans, including a Marine detachment.
-The World Bank announces a package of emergency measures to tackle the dramatic rise in basic food prices which has led to civil unrest throughout much of the developing world.
*April 18, 2008, Release of 88 Minutes.
*April 20, 2008, Danica Patrick becomes the first woman to win a race in any top-flight American motor racing series with her victory in IndyCar's 2008 Indy Japan 300.
*April 25, 2008, Actor Wesley Snipes(Amen Ra Films) is sentenced to three years in prison for tax violations.
-Release of Baby Mama.
Kate Holbrook (Tina Fey), a successful single businesswoman from Philadelphia, has put her career before her personal life. At the age of 37, she has finally decided to have a child on her own, but her plans change when she discovers she has only the slimmest chance of becoming pregnant. Also denied adoption, Kate hires an immature, obnoxious South Philly girl, Angie Ostrowiski (Amy Poehler), to become her surrogate mom. The film also ends with Tina Fey(Palin) also becoming pregnant and giving birth.
*April 27, 2008, It is reported that Josef Fritzl had incarcerated his daughter in a custom-built cellar in Amstetten, Austria, for 24 years, raped her and fathered seven children by her, three of whom he left in the cellar.
*April 28, 2008, Officials with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services find that 31 of the 53 girls between ages 14 and 17 seized from the YFZ( Yearning For ZION(OZ) Ranch have been, or are currently, pregnant.
-General Motors announces that it will cut production of pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles in three plants in Michigan and one in Oshawa, Ontario and negotiate layoffs with the United Auto Workers and Canadian Auto Workers.
-Mars, Incorporated announces that it is buying the Wm. Wrigley Jr.(WW/MM/2K) Company, the world's largest chewing gum manufacturer, in a deal worth $23 billion. The deal is being partly financed by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway company.
*April 29, 2008, Economy of the United States
The S&P/Case-Shiller index of United States real estate pricing shows a decline of 12.7% from February 2007 to February 2008, with 17 of 20 regions showing falls.
-The United States Consumer Confidence Index falls again in April due to concerns over the rising price of petroleum and weaker job prospects.
-Albert Hoffmann, the "father of LSD", dies of a heart attack at the age of 102.
*April 30, 2008, War on Terrorism
-The United States Department of State's annual report on terrorism states that al-Qaeda "has reconstituted some of its pre-9/11 operational capabilities" in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. The report also states that there has been a 16% increase in terrorist attacks in Afghanistan due to resurgent activity by al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
-The Bush administration brings back the one year Treasury bill in order to cope with rising budget deficits.
-The economy of the United States expands by an annualized rate of 0.6 percent due largely to a growth in exports.
-The Federal Reserve System cuts interest rates in the United States by a quarter percentage to 2 per cent.
-HP Labs announces the creation of the memristor, at times described as the fourth basic electronic element. The memristor was first predicted in 1971 by Leon Chua. The discovery may have a tremendous impact on computing and electronics, joining the other basic electronic elements the resistor, capacitor, and inductor.
*May 1, 2008, May-Day(May-pole/Phallic), Cross-Quarter Day, Fertility season. The May Queen or Queen of May is a term which has two distinct but related meanings, as a mythical figure and as a holiday personification.
-So called Suicide of Madam Deborah(Bee) Pelfrey(Riding Horse) as the result of a hanging( Hanged man).
May crowning is a traditional Roman Catholic ritual that occurs in the month of May of every year. In some countries, it takes place on or about May 1, however, in many United States Catholic parishes, it takes place on Mother's Day. An image or likeness of the Blessed Virgin Mary is ceremonially crowned to signify her as Queen of Heaven and the Mother of God. The practice is also maintained in the same fashion by some Anglo Catholic Anglicans.
A number of traditions link the month of May to Mary. In ancient Greece, May was the month dedicated to Artemis and some people allege that the reverence for this goddess was transferred to Mary with the Christianization of Europe. Later, the Coronation of the Virgin became a popular subject in art. lala Alfonso X, king of Castile wrote in his "Cantigas de Santa Maria" about the special honoring of Mary during specific dates in May. Eventually, the entire month was filled with special observances and devotions to Mary. The tradition of honoring Mary in a month-long May devotion is believed to have originated in Italy, but spread eventually around the Roman Catholic world in the 19th Century together with a month-long devotion to Jesus in June and the Rosary in October.
In the Philippines, the celebration is marked with a parade called the Santacruzan, where young ladies are chosen to represent certain historical (such as St. Helena) and traditional figures, called "reynas" (examples of these titles are "Reyna Elena" and "Reyna Emperatriz"). They parade through the town, escorted by young men or boys (for example, St. Helena is escorted by a young Constantine), under mobile arches heavily decorated with local flowers or other decorations meant to denote bounty.
The May Queen is a girl (usually a teenage girl from a specific school year) who is selected to ride or walk at the front of a parade for May Day celebrations. She wears a white gown to symbolise purity and usually a tiara or crown. Her duty is to begin the May Day celebrations. She is generally crowned by flowers and makes a speech before the dancing begins. Certain age groups dance round a Maypole celebrating youth and the spring time.
-A May Queen is mentioned in the Led Zeppelin song "Stairway to Heaven".
-May Queen is the name of a poem by occultist Aleister Crowley.
-The Queen of the May is featured as a sacrificial offering in the book Cowboys for Christ.
*May 1, 2008, continued, The United States Federal Reserve System auctions off $24.12 billion in Treasury securities to help relieve the subprime mortgage crisis.
-The President of the United States George W. Bush calls on the United States Congress to approve a $US700 million food aid package to help relieve the 2007-2008 world food price crisis.
*May 2, 2008, The Olympic flame is back on Chinese soil as the Olympics torch relay continues in Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.
-Release of Iron Man.
Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) avoids his own Apogee Awards ceremony to gamble at a Las Vegas casino, leaving his deceased father's friend and business partner, Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) to collect the award. As Stark leaves the casino with his entourage, he is approached by Vanity Fair reporter Christine Everhart (Leslie Bibb), whom he charms into a one-night stand at his Malibu house. As she awakens in the morning, she is escorted from the house by Pepper Potts, Stark's personal assistant (Gwyneth Paltrow), who tells her Stark is away on a business trip, though Stark is really still in the house, until Potts informs him how late he is. On Stark's way back from the business trip in Afghanistan, where he demonstrated Stark Industries' new weapon, the "Jericho" cluster missile, the military convoy is attacked. In the ensuing firefight, Stark is wounded by one of his own company's bombs, which knocks him unconscious and embeds shrapnel in his chest, one fragment dangerously close to his heart. Waking up hours later in an Afghan cave, Stark discovers an electromagnet attached to his chest, powered by a car battery and designed to keep the shrapnel from piercing his heart and killing him.
*May 3, 2008, Big Brown(BB/22/Fool) who from NY(OZ) wins the 2008 Kentucky Derby. Eight Belles, the only filly in the field, breaks down after finishing second in the race, and is euthanized.
*May 5, 2008, The United States Federal Reserve System reports that banks are tightening lending standards on home mortgages, other types of consumer loans and business loans in response to the subprime mortgage crisis.
*May 8, 2008, The United States House of Representatives approves legislation developed by Barney Frank to let the United States government insure up to $300 billion in mortgages to help homeowners avert foreclosure.
-The Iraqi Minister of Defence claims that the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, has been captured.
-North Korea hands over thousands of pages about its nuclear program to a visiting diplomat from the United States that will help verify its plutonium holdings
-Latvia and Lithuania become the latest EU member states to ratify the Treaty of Lisbon.
-The 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay reaches the peak of Mount Everest.
*May 9, 2008, The price of crude oil reaches a new record high of US$125.98 a barrel.
-The United States Military denies the capture of al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri.
*May 10, 2008, United States presidential election, 2008: Illinois Senator Barack Obama takes the lead in support from superdelegates to the Democratic National Convention
*May 13, 2008, U.S. federal prosecutors have filed a new indictment against baseball slugger Barry Bonds(BB/22/Fool), charging him with 14 counts of lying to a grand jury and one count of obstruction of justice when he denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs.
-The United States Department of Defense drops charges against Mohamed al-Kahtani, who was suspected of being the "20th hijacker" in the September 11, 2001 attacks.
May 14, 2008, Food prices center stage at EU-Latin America summit.
-The United States Department of the Interior declares that the Polar bear is a threatened species due to declining levels of Arctic Ocean ice as a result of global warming.
*May 15, 2008, The number of United States workers filing jobless claims for initial unemployment benefits rises by 6,000 while the number on benefit rolls after a first week of aid hit a four-year high.
-The Federal Reserve System reports that the industrial output of the nations factories, mines and utilities fell by 0.7% in April in a broad-based decline led by motor vehicles.
*May 16, 2008, The President of the United States George W. Bush arrives in Saudi Arabia to discuss rising fuel prices with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia later announces plans to raise its output by 300,000 barrels a day.
-Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin laden leaves an audio message on the Internet vowing to continue the fight against Israel.
*May 21, 2008, Crude oil prices rise above $130 a barrel for the first time.
*May 22, 2008, Release of Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull.
In 1957, Colonel-Doctor Irina Spalko and a convoy of Soviet agents posing as U.S. soldiers infiltrate a military base in the Nevada desert. They force Indiana Jones to lead them to a crate in "Hangar 51", which holds the remains of an extraterrestrial creature that crashed ten years before in Roswell, New Mexico.
-Giant telescope(Looking Glass) links London, New York(2001-2012)
*May 23, 2008, An independent investigation into $8.2 billion in United States Department of Defense spending in Iraq, as well as aid to Egypt and Kuwait since 2001 finds that 95% of payments to contractors failed to meet requirements for documentation to determine what was paid for.
*May 25, 2008, The Phoenix lander arrives at Mars, landing successfully in the "Green Valley"(Osiris) region of Vastitas Borealis.
*May 29, 2008, The World Bank announces a US$1.2 billion package to fight the global food crisis including $200 million in grants for those most at risk in Third World countries.
*May 30, 2008, A crane collapses in the Upper East Side of New York City resulting in the death of at least two people (AP via Google News), while another crane collapses in Shanghai's Pudong district, killing three.
-The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services reaches agreement with some of the families of the YFZ Ranch to start returning the children on Monday.
*May 31, 2008, Usain Bolt of Jamaica sets a new world record for the 100 metres in athletics in the Reebok Grand Prix at Icahn Stadium in New York City at 9.72 seconds.
*June 1, 2008, A large fire breaks out at Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles. There was at least one explosion as New York(OZ) Street and the King Kong Studios were burned.
*June 2, 3008, Wachovia, the fourth largest bank in the United States, fires its Chief Executive Officer, G. Kennedy Thompson, due to losses incurred in the subprime mortgage crisis.
-The Bank of England says that new mortgage approvals in the United Kingdom in April were at record lows.
-The United Nations Security Council unanimously passes a declaration allowing foreign naval vessels to enter Somali territorial waters to deal with pirates.
*June 3rd, 2008, United States Democratic Party primaries: Illinois Senator Barack Obama wins the Democratic Party presumptive nomination, becoming the first African American to be nominated by a major party.
-The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization opens the High-Level Conference on World Food Security in Rome, focusing on the world food price crisis, climate change and agriculture and food vs fuel issues.
*June 5, 2008, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others are arraigned at Guantanamo Bay detention camp under the Military Commissions Act of 2006, and charged with crimes related to the September 11, 2001 attacks.
*June 6, 2008, The price of a barrel of crude oil rises a single-day record of nearly US$11, settling at a new record of US$138.54.
Release of Kung Fu Panda.
Po (Jack Black) is a panda who works in a noodle restaurant owned by his goose father Mr. Ping (James Hong), who hopes that Po will one day take over the restaurant, and wishes to disclose to him the secret ingredient of his family's famous noodle soup. Po is a kung fu fanatic with secret dreams of becoming a great master in the discipline. However, his weight, clumsiness, and incredibly large girth make his goal difficult to attain.
-Release of Dont Mess with the Zohan(OZ/Zodiac Cross Quarter).
The movie begins with Zohan Dvir (Adam Sandler), a Mossad agent, hanging around at the Tel Aviv beach, attracting several women and capturing the attention of every beach-goer with his Hacky Sack prowess including a clumsy Fizzy Bubelech drinker. Then the film goes to his vacation in Eilat where he cooks fish in the nude (using copious amounts of hummus) for himself, his friend and several women. His party favor, catching the fish between the cheeks of his butt. As he finishes cooking, an Israeli Defence Forces helicopter arrives, stealing him away from his presumed well-earned vacation.
During a subsequent briefing, Zohan expresses his displeasure about having his vacation cut short. After being heckled by his officer, he eventually agrees to do yet another mission of recapturing a key Palestinian terrorist, the "Phantom" (John Turturro), who had been freed by the Israeli government in exchange for a captured Mossad agent, plus an additional "to-be-named-later" spy. Later, as Zohan expresses his desire to leave Israel and become a hairdresser in New York City, his wishes are met with laughter by his mother and his father, who had fought in Israel's Six-Day War.
*June 7, 2008, Big Brown becomes the first Triple Crown favorite to place last in the 2008 Belmont Stakes in New York. The undefeated colt previously won the 2008 Kentucky Derby and the 2008 Preakness Stakes. The 38/1 longshot Da'Tara wins in a wire-to-wire finish. The last Triple Crown winner was Affirmed in 1978.
-Hillary Clinton suspends her presidential campaign and endorses Barack Obama as the Democratic candidate for President of the United States in the 2008 election.
*June 9, 2008, A stalled storm system in the midwest of the United States causes further heavy flooding in Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin with storms on the weekend causing 10 deaths in four states.
-Apple, Inc. introduces a new iPhone with 3G capabilities, a GPS, and new features. The device is called iPhone 3G.
-IBM and Los Alamos National Laboratory break processing speed barrier with the world's first petaflop computer, Roadrunner.
*June 10th , 2008, President George W. Bush attends the final United States-European Union summit of his Presidency with agreements to tighten sanctions against Iran for its nuclear program.
-United States Republican senators block moves to levy a windfall profits tax on oil companies.
*June 11, 2008, The United States Food and Drug Administration has received 167 reported incidents of Salmonellosis from eating tainted tomatoes in 17 states with New Mexico and Texas the worst affected areas.
-The Hunger Strike for 9-11 Truth comes to an end in front of U.S. Senator John McCain's office in Phoenix Arizona on the 17th day.
-Former basketball referee Tim Donaghy accuses other referees in the National Basketball Association of rigging games, including Game 6 in the 2002 Western Conference Finals, allowing the Los Angeles Lakers to win that game, the series, and ultimately the 2002 NBA Finals.
*June 12, 2008, Four thousand homes in Cedar Rapids, Iowa are evacuated as the Cedar River floods due to heavy rain in recent days.
*June 13, 2008, Midwest United States floods:
-The Governor of Iowa Chet Culver declares that 83 of the 99 counties in Iowa are disaster areas as flooding leads to evacuations in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines.
-The upper Mississippi River is closed to shipping as three people die in Indiana and three in Iowa.
-Finance ministers from the Group of Eight meet in Osaka, Japan with rising food and oil prices high on the Agenda.
-American political news reporter Tim Russert dies after collapsing at the NBC Washington D.C. Bureau offices where he worked.
-Release of the Happening.
In Central Park, New York City, people inexplicably begin committing mass suicide. First they become disoriented and motionless, before resorting to the most convenient means of killing themselves. Initially believed to be a bioterrorist attack, the pandemic quickly spreads across the northeastern United States.
-Release of The Incredible Hulk.
A montage during the opening credit sequence details the film's backstory and the origin of the Hulk(Greenman/Osiris/Fool). General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross (William Hurt/Vantage Point/Altered States) meets with Dr. Bruce Banner (Edward Norton), the colleague and lover of his daughter Betty (Liv Tyler). He wants him to revive a World War II-era military bio-force project, but tells Banner the goal of the experiment is to make human beings immune to gamma radiation. The experiment fails, transforming Banner into the monstrous Hulk (voiced by Lou Ferrigno), and injuring Betty. Now a fugitive from the United States Army, Banner has been on the run for five years.
*June 14, 2008, The Space Shuttle Discovery lands having successfully completed mission STS-124.
-The President of the United States George W. Bush and the President of France Nicolas Sarkozy warn Syria to break with Iran and state that they will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons.
*June 15, 2008, The American International Group (AIG), the world's largest insurance company, removes Martin J. Sullivan as its CEO due to losses caused by the subprime mortgage crisis.
*June 16, 2008, The European Union agrees to tougher sanctions against Iran for its alleged nuclear weapons program with the United Kingdom freezing assets of Iran's largest bank Bank Melli.
-Same-sex marriage in California comes into effect following a court ruling on May 15, 2008.
*June 17, 2008, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama opens the U.S. general election campaign with a narrow lead over Republican John McCain.
-The Boston Celtics defeat the Los Angeles Lakers to win the 2008 NBA Finals.
-President Nicolas Sarkozy announces that France intends to return to the military structure of NATO for the first time since Charles de Gaulle led it out of the organisation in 1966.
-Release Date of Mozilla Firefox 3.0 "Gran Paradiso"
*June 18, 2008, The Parliament of the United Kingdom ratifies the Treaty of Lisbon.
-The European Parliament passes legislation to allow undocumented aliens to be held in detention centres for up to 18 months and banned from European Union territory for five years.
-The United States and China agree to negotiate an investment treaty and to cooperate more closely on energy security and global pollution.
-Mexico reaches an agreement with industry groups to fix the prices of 150 food items as a result of accelerating inflation.
-Israel agrees to a truce starting Thursday with the Hamas-led government in the Gaza Strip. Israel suggests peace talks with Lebanon to end the 60-year Israeli-Lebanese conflict.
-17 Girls at Gloucester High School are Pregnant, school is Located near Boston(Greeman/Osiris)
*June 19, 2008, The President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accuses the United States of plotting to kidnap and assassinate him during a visit to Iraq.
-A Congressional ethics panel is examining allegations that Democrat Senators Christopher Dodd of Connecticut (the sponsor of a major $300 billion housing bailout bill) and Kent Conrad of North Dakota received preferential loans by troubled mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp.
-Two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers are arrested and will be the first Wall Street executives to face criminal charges.
-Commencing at dawn, the Israeli Government and Hamas declare a truce in the Israel-Gaza conflict, halting attacks across the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel.
*March 24, 2008, The United States Department of Justice approves the merger of Sirius(Dog Star) Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio.
-The Olympic Flame of the 2008 Summer Olympics is lit in Olympia, despite disruption by three protesters from Reporters Without Borders.
*March 26, 2008, The Space Shuttle Endeavour lands at Cape Canaveral, Florida in a rare nighttime landing ending a 16-day mission to the International Space Station.
-Ford Motor Company announces it will sell its British luxury-car brands Jaguar and Land Rover to India's Tata Motors for $2.3 billion.
*April 1, 2008, April Fool's Day
*April 4, 2008, The United States Department of State renews the contract of Blackwater Worldwide to provide security in Iraq despite a number of ongoing investigations
-The luxury yacht Le Ponant is seized by pirates off the Somalian coast.
*April 7, 2008, The Kansas Jayhawks(Horus/Phoenix) defeat the Memphis Tigers in overtime, 75-68, to win the 2008 U.S. Division I men's college basketball championship.
-Golden Gate(GG/77/OZ/Pan) is the site of a Tibet demonstration. Also displaying many Octagons in the same place of the 0 and 8's.
-Release of Street Kings.
Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves) is a disillusioned L.A. Police Officer, rarely playing by the rules and haunted by the death of his wife. All of the cops in Ludlow's unit, including their captain, Jack Wander (Forest Whitaker), bend and break the rules of conduct on a regular basis. Their intention is often to deal with crime in a manner that they perceive to be more efficient, which leads them to routinely lie, falsify reports and manipulate evidence to cover up for their wrong-doings.
-The Olympic torch is extinguished by officials as police are confronted by protesters during the Olympic torch relay through Paris.
-U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton calls on President George W. Bush to boycott the opening ceremony at the Summer Olympics in Beijing.
-The head of the International Olympic Committee Jacques Rogge says he's "very concerned" about unrest in Tibet and other issues associated with the Summer Olympics.
-The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the Summer Olympiad claims that the "Olympic torch has received a warm welcome worldwide."
*April 9, 2008, The Olympic torch relay through San Francisco descends into confusion as the first runner in the elaborately planned relay disappears into a warehouse on a waterfront pier.
*April 10, 2008, Frontier Airlines files for bankruptcy protection.
-The European Parliament passes a resolution in favor of a boycott of the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympiad.
-IOC president Jacques Rogge calls for China to respect its commitment to improve human rights ahead of the Beijing Games.
-The Olympic torch arrives in Buenos Aires for the Olympic torch relay under heavy security.
*April 11, 2008, Somalian pirates release 30 hostages (mostly French) kidnapped aboard Le Ponant in the Gulf of Aden a week ago.
-Release of 21.
MIT student Ben Campbell is accepted into Harvard Medical School, but he cannot afford the $300,000 tuition. He is interviewed as a potential candidate for the prestigious Robinson Scholarship, which will pay for all his school-related expenses. Despite boasting stats such as a 1590 SAT score, 44 MCAT score, and a 4.0 GPA at MIT, Ben is told that competition for the scholarship is very fierce. The recruiter tells him that he needs to to write an essay which will make him stand out; in other words, an essay which will dazzle him.
*April 13, 2008, Robert Zoellick, the president of the World Bank, calls for immediate action to tackle rising food prices which have caused rioting in several countries.
*April 14, 2008, Delta Air Lines reaches an agreement with Northwest Airlines to take over Northwest and create the world's biggest airline.
-The United States begins occupying its new US$736 million embassy in Iraq, one of the largest embassies in the world. Presently under construction, it is approximately as large as the Vatican City and will permanently employ thousands of Americans, including a Marine detachment.
-The World Bank announces a package of emergency measures to tackle the dramatic rise in basic food prices which has led to civil unrest throughout much of the developing world.
*April 18, 2008, Release of 88 Minutes.
*April 20, 2008, Danica Patrick becomes the first woman to win a race in any top-flight American motor racing series with her victory in IndyCar's 2008 Indy Japan 300.
*April 25, 2008, Actor Wesley Snipes(Amen Ra Films) is sentenced to three years in prison for tax violations.
-Release of Baby Mama.
Kate Holbrook (Tina Fey), a successful single businesswoman from Philadelphia, has put her career before her personal life. At the age of 37, she has finally decided to have a child on her own, but her plans change when she discovers she has only the slimmest chance of becoming pregnant. Also denied adoption, Kate hires an immature, obnoxious South Philly girl, Angie Ostrowiski (Amy Poehler), to become her surrogate mom. The film also ends with Tina Fey(Palin) also becoming pregnant and giving birth.
*April 27, 2008, It is reported that Josef Fritzl had incarcerated his daughter in a custom-built cellar in Amstetten, Austria, for 24 years, raped her and fathered seven children by her, three of whom he left in the cellar.
*April 28, 2008, Officials with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services find that 31 of the 53 girls between ages 14 and 17 seized from the YFZ( Yearning For ZION(OZ) Ranch have been, or are currently, pregnant.
-General Motors announces that it will cut production of pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles in three plants in Michigan and one in Oshawa, Ontario and negotiate layoffs with the United Auto Workers and Canadian Auto Workers.
-Mars, Incorporated announces that it is buying the Wm. Wrigley Jr.(WW/MM/2K) Company, the world's largest chewing gum manufacturer, in a deal worth $23 billion. The deal is being partly financed by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway company.
*April 29, 2008, Economy of the United States
The S&P/Case-Shiller index of United States real estate pricing shows a decline of 12.7% from February 2007 to February 2008, with 17 of 20 regions showing falls.
-The United States Consumer Confidence Index falls again in April due to concerns over the rising price of petroleum and weaker job prospects.
-Albert Hoffmann, the "father of LSD", dies of a heart attack at the age of 102.
*April 30, 2008, War on Terrorism
-The United States Department of State's annual report on terrorism states that al-Qaeda "has reconstituted some of its pre-9/11 operational capabilities" in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. The report also states that there has been a 16% increase in terrorist attacks in Afghanistan due to resurgent activity by al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
-The Bush administration brings back the one year Treasury bill in order to cope with rising budget deficits.
-The economy of the United States expands by an annualized rate of 0.6 percent due largely to a growth in exports.
-The Federal Reserve System cuts interest rates in the United States by a quarter percentage to 2 per cent.
-HP Labs announces the creation of the memristor, at times described as the fourth basic electronic element. The memristor was first predicted in 1971 by Leon Chua. The discovery may have a tremendous impact on computing and electronics, joining the other basic electronic elements the resistor, capacitor, and inductor.
*May 1, 2008, May-Day(May-pole/Phallic), Cross-Quarter Day, Fertility season. The May Queen or Queen of May is a term which has two distinct but related meanings, as a mythical figure and as a holiday personification.
-So called Suicide of Madam Deborah(Bee) Pelfrey(Riding Horse) as the result of a hanging( Hanged man).
May crowning is a traditional Roman Catholic ritual that occurs in the month of May of every year. In some countries, it takes place on or about May 1, however, in many United States Catholic parishes, it takes place on Mother's Day. An image or likeness of the Blessed Virgin Mary is ceremonially crowned to signify her as Queen of Heaven and the Mother of God. The practice is also maintained in the same fashion by some Anglo Catholic Anglicans.
A number of traditions link the month of May to Mary. In ancient Greece, May was the month dedicated to Artemis and some people allege that the reverence for this goddess was transferred to Mary with the Christianization of Europe. Later, the Coronation of the Virgin became a popular subject in art. lala Alfonso X, king of Castile wrote in his "Cantigas de Santa Maria" about the special honoring of Mary during specific dates in May. Eventually, the entire month was filled with special observances and devotions to Mary. The tradition of honoring Mary in a month-long May devotion is believed to have originated in Italy, but spread eventually around the Roman Catholic world in the 19th Century together with a month-long devotion to Jesus in June and the Rosary in October.
In the Philippines, the celebration is marked with a parade called the Santacruzan, where young ladies are chosen to represent certain historical (such as St. Helena) and traditional figures, called "reynas" (examples of these titles are "Reyna Elena" and "Reyna Emperatriz"). They parade through the town, escorted by young men or boys (for example, St. Helena is escorted by a young Constantine), under mobile arches heavily decorated with local flowers or other decorations meant to denote bounty.
The May Queen is a girl (usually a teenage girl from a specific school year) who is selected to ride or walk at the front of a parade for May Day celebrations. She wears a white gown to symbolise purity and usually a tiara or crown. Her duty is to begin the May Day celebrations. She is generally crowned by flowers and makes a speech before the dancing begins. Certain age groups dance round a Maypole celebrating youth and the spring time.
-A May Queen is mentioned in the Led Zeppelin song "Stairway to Heaven".
-May Queen is the name of a poem by occultist Aleister Crowley.
-The Queen of the May is featured as a sacrificial offering in the book Cowboys for Christ.
*May 1, 2008, continued, The United States Federal Reserve System auctions off $24.12 billion in Treasury securities to help relieve the subprime mortgage crisis.
-The President of the United States George W. Bush calls on the United States Congress to approve a $US700 million food aid package to help relieve the 2007-2008 world food price crisis.
*May 2, 2008, The Olympic flame is back on Chinese soil as the Olympics torch relay continues in Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.
-Release of Iron Man.
Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) avoids his own Apogee Awards ceremony to gamble at a Las Vegas casino, leaving his deceased father's friend and business partner, Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) to collect the award. As Stark leaves the casino with his entourage, he is approached by Vanity Fair reporter Christine Everhart (Leslie Bibb), whom he charms into a one-night stand at his Malibu house. As she awakens in the morning, she is escorted from the house by Pepper Potts, Stark's personal assistant (Gwyneth Paltrow), who tells her Stark is away on a business trip, though Stark is really still in the house, until Potts informs him how late he is. On Stark's way back from the business trip in Afghanistan, where he demonstrated Stark Industries' new weapon, the "Jericho" cluster missile, the military convoy is attacked. In the ensuing firefight, Stark is wounded by one of his own company's bombs, which knocks him unconscious and embeds shrapnel in his chest, one fragment dangerously close to his heart. Waking up hours later in an Afghan cave, Stark discovers an electromagnet attached to his chest, powered by a car battery and designed to keep the shrapnel from piercing his heart and killing him.
*May 3, 2008, Big Brown(BB/22/Fool) who from NY(OZ) wins the 2008 Kentucky Derby. Eight Belles, the only filly in the field, breaks down after finishing second in the race, and is euthanized.
*May 5, 2008, The United States Federal Reserve System reports that banks are tightening lending standards on home mortgages, other types of consumer loans and business loans in response to the subprime mortgage crisis.
*May 8, 2008, The United States House of Representatives approves legislation developed by Barney Frank to let the United States government insure up to $300 billion in mortgages to help homeowners avert foreclosure.
-The Iraqi Minister of Defence claims that the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, has been captured.
-North Korea hands over thousands of pages about its nuclear program to a visiting diplomat from the United States that will help verify its plutonium holdings
-Latvia and Lithuania become the latest EU member states to ratify the Treaty of Lisbon.
-The 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay reaches the peak of Mount Everest.
*May 9, 2008, The price of crude oil reaches a new record high of US$125.98 a barrel.
-The United States Military denies the capture of al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri.
*May 10, 2008, United States presidential election, 2008: Illinois Senator Barack Obama takes the lead in support from superdelegates to the Democratic National Convention
*May 13, 2008, U.S. federal prosecutors have filed a new indictment against baseball slugger Barry Bonds(BB/22/Fool), charging him with 14 counts of lying to a grand jury and one count of obstruction of justice when he denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs.
-The United States Department of Defense drops charges against Mohamed al-Kahtani, who was suspected of being the "20th hijacker" in the September 11, 2001 attacks.
May 14, 2008, Food prices center stage at EU-Latin America summit.
-The United States Department of the Interior declares that the Polar bear is a threatened species due to declining levels of Arctic Ocean ice as a result of global warming.
*May 15, 2008, The number of United States workers filing jobless claims for initial unemployment benefits rises by 6,000 while the number on benefit rolls after a first week of aid hit a four-year high.
-The Federal Reserve System reports that the industrial output of the nations factories, mines and utilities fell by 0.7% in April in a broad-based decline led by motor vehicles.
*May 16, 2008, The President of the United States George W. Bush arrives in Saudi Arabia to discuss rising fuel prices with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia later announces plans to raise its output by 300,000 barrels a day.
-Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin laden leaves an audio message on the Internet vowing to continue the fight against Israel.
*May 21, 2008, Crude oil prices rise above $130 a barrel for the first time.
*May 22, 2008, Release of Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull.
In 1957, Colonel-Doctor Irina Spalko and a convoy of Soviet agents posing as U.S. soldiers infiltrate a military base in the Nevada desert. They force Indiana Jones to lead them to a crate in "Hangar 51", which holds the remains of an extraterrestrial creature that crashed ten years before in Roswell, New Mexico.
-Giant telescope(Looking Glass) links London, New York(2001-2012)
*May 23, 2008, An independent investigation into $8.2 billion in United States Department of Defense spending in Iraq, as well as aid to Egypt and Kuwait since 2001 finds that 95% of payments to contractors failed to meet requirements for documentation to determine what was paid for.
*May 25, 2008, The Phoenix lander arrives at Mars, landing successfully in the "Green Valley"(Osiris) region of Vastitas Borealis.
*May 29, 2008, The World Bank announces a US$1.2 billion package to fight the global food crisis including $200 million in grants for those most at risk in Third World countries.
*May 30, 2008, A crane collapses in the Upper East Side of New York City resulting in the death of at least two people (AP via Google News), while another crane collapses in Shanghai's Pudong district, killing three.
-The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services reaches agreement with some of the families of the YFZ Ranch to start returning the children on Monday.
*May 31, 2008, Usain Bolt of Jamaica sets a new world record for the 100 metres in athletics in the Reebok Grand Prix at Icahn Stadium in New York City at 9.72 seconds.
*June 1, 2008, A large fire breaks out at Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles. There was at least one explosion as New York(OZ) Street and the King Kong Studios were burned.
*June 2, 3008, Wachovia, the fourth largest bank in the United States, fires its Chief Executive Officer, G. Kennedy Thompson, due to losses incurred in the subprime mortgage crisis.
-The Bank of England says that new mortgage approvals in the United Kingdom in April were at record lows.
-The United Nations Security Council unanimously passes a declaration allowing foreign naval vessels to enter Somali territorial waters to deal with pirates.
*June 3rd, 2008, United States Democratic Party primaries: Illinois Senator Barack Obama wins the Democratic Party presumptive nomination, becoming the first African American to be nominated by a major party.
-The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization opens the High-Level Conference on World Food Security in Rome, focusing on the world food price crisis, climate change and agriculture and food vs fuel issues.
*June 5, 2008, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others are arraigned at Guantanamo Bay detention camp under the Military Commissions Act of 2006, and charged with crimes related to the September 11, 2001 attacks.
*June 6, 2008, The price of a barrel of crude oil rises a single-day record of nearly US$11, settling at a new record of US$138.54.
Release of Kung Fu Panda.
Po (Jack Black) is a panda who works in a noodle restaurant owned by his goose father Mr. Ping (James Hong), who hopes that Po will one day take over the restaurant, and wishes to disclose to him the secret ingredient of his family's famous noodle soup. Po is a kung fu fanatic with secret dreams of becoming a great master in the discipline. However, his weight, clumsiness, and incredibly large girth make his goal difficult to attain.
-Release of Dont Mess with the Zohan(OZ/Zodiac Cross Quarter).
The movie begins with Zohan Dvir (Adam Sandler), a Mossad agent, hanging around at the Tel Aviv beach, attracting several women and capturing the attention of every beach-goer with his Hacky Sack prowess including a clumsy Fizzy Bubelech drinker. Then the film goes to his vacation in Eilat where he cooks fish in the nude (using copious amounts of hummus) for himself, his friend and several women. His party favor, catching the fish between the cheeks of his butt. As he finishes cooking, an Israeli Defence Forces helicopter arrives, stealing him away from his presumed well-earned vacation.
During a subsequent briefing, Zohan expresses his displeasure about having his vacation cut short. After being heckled by his officer, he eventually agrees to do yet another mission of recapturing a key Palestinian terrorist, the "Phantom" (John Turturro), who had been freed by the Israeli government in exchange for a captured Mossad agent, plus an additional "to-be-named-later" spy. Later, as Zohan expresses his desire to leave Israel and become a hairdresser in New York City, his wishes are met with laughter by his mother and his father, who had fought in Israel's Six-Day War.
*June 7, 2008, Big Brown becomes the first Triple Crown favorite to place last in the 2008 Belmont Stakes in New York. The undefeated colt previously won the 2008 Kentucky Derby and the 2008 Preakness Stakes. The 38/1 longshot Da'Tara wins in a wire-to-wire finish. The last Triple Crown winner was Affirmed in 1978.
-Hillary Clinton suspends her presidential campaign and endorses Barack Obama as the Democratic candidate for President of the United States in the 2008 election.
*June 9, 2008, A stalled storm system in the midwest of the United States causes further heavy flooding in Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin with storms on the weekend causing 10 deaths in four states.
-Apple, Inc. introduces a new iPhone with 3G capabilities, a GPS, and new features. The device is called iPhone 3G.
-IBM and Los Alamos National Laboratory break processing speed barrier with the world's first petaflop computer, Roadrunner.
*June 10th , 2008, President George W. Bush attends the final United States-European Union summit of his Presidency with agreements to tighten sanctions against Iran for its nuclear program.
-United States Republican senators block moves to levy a windfall profits tax on oil companies.
*June 11, 2008, The United States Food and Drug Administration has received 167 reported incidents of Salmonellosis from eating tainted tomatoes in 17 states with New Mexico and Texas the worst affected areas.
-The Hunger Strike for 9-11 Truth comes to an end in front of U.S. Senator John McCain's office in Phoenix Arizona on the 17th day.
-Former basketball referee Tim Donaghy accuses other referees in the National Basketball Association of rigging games, including Game 6 in the 2002 Western Conference Finals, allowing the Los Angeles Lakers to win that game, the series, and ultimately the 2002 NBA Finals.
*June 12, 2008, Four thousand homes in Cedar Rapids, Iowa are evacuated as the Cedar River floods due to heavy rain in recent days.
*June 13, 2008, Midwest United States floods:
-The Governor of Iowa Chet Culver declares that 83 of the 99 counties in Iowa are disaster areas as flooding leads to evacuations in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines.
-The upper Mississippi River is closed to shipping as three people die in Indiana and three in Iowa.
-Finance ministers from the Group of Eight meet in Osaka, Japan with rising food and oil prices high on the Agenda.
-American political news reporter Tim Russert dies after collapsing at the NBC Washington D.C. Bureau offices where he worked.
-Release of the Happening.
In Central Park, New York City, people inexplicably begin committing mass suicide. First they become disoriented and motionless, before resorting to the most convenient means of killing themselves. Initially believed to be a bioterrorist attack, the pandemic quickly spreads across the northeastern United States.
-Release of The Incredible Hulk.
A montage during the opening credit sequence details the film's backstory and the origin of the Hulk(Greenman/Osiris/Fool). General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross (William Hurt/Vantage Point/Altered States) meets with Dr. Bruce Banner (Edward Norton), the colleague and lover of his daughter Betty (Liv Tyler). He wants him to revive a World War II-era military bio-force project, but tells Banner the goal of the experiment is to make human beings immune to gamma radiation. The experiment fails, transforming Banner into the monstrous Hulk (voiced by Lou Ferrigno), and injuring Betty. Now a fugitive from the United States Army, Banner has been on the run for five years.
*June 14, 2008, The Space Shuttle Discovery lands having successfully completed mission STS-124.
-The President of the United States George W. Bush and the President of France Nicolas Sarkozy warn Syria to break with Iran and state that they will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons.
*June 15, 2008, The American International Group (AIG), the world's largest insurance company, removes Martin J. Sullivan as its CEO due to losses caused by the subprime mortgage crisis.
*June 16, 2008, The European Union agrees to tougher sanctions against Iran for its alleged nuclear weapons program with the United Kingdom freezing assets of Iran's largest bank Bank Melli.
-Same-sex marriage in California comes into effect following a court ruling on May 15, 2008.
*June 17, 2008, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama opens the U.S. general election campaign with a narrow lead over Republican John McCain.
-The Boston Celtics defeat the Los Angeles Lakers to win the 2008 NBA Finals.
-President Nicolas Sarkozy announces that France intends to return to the military structure of NATO for the first time since Charles de Gaulle led it out of the organisation in 1966.
-Release Date of Mozilla Firefox 3.0 "Gran Paradiso"
*June 18, 2008, The Parliament of the United Kingdom ratifies the Treaty of Lisbon.
-The European Parliament passes legislation to allow undocumented aliens to be held in detention centres for up to 18 months and banned from European Union territory for five years.
-The United States and China agree to negotiate an investment treaty and to cooperate more closely on energy security and global pollution.
-Mexico reaches an agreement with industry groups to fix the prices of 150 food items as a result of accelerating inflation.
-Israel agrees to a truce starting Thursday with the Hamas-led government in the Gaza Strip. Israel suggests peace talks with Lebanon to end the 60-year Israeli-Lebanese conflict.
-17 Girls at Gloucester High School are Pregnant, school is Located near Boston(Greeman/Osiris)
*June 19, 2008, The President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accuses the United States of plotting to kidnap and assassinate him during a visit to Iraq.
-A Congressional ethics panel is examining allegations that Democrat Senators Christopher Dodd of Connecticut (the sponsor of a major $300 billion housing bailout bill) and Kent Conrad of North Dakota received preferential loans by troubled mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp.
-Two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers are arrested and will be the first Wall Street executives to face criminal charges.
-Commencing at dawn, the Israeli Government and Hamas declare a truce in the Israel-Gaza conflict, halting attacks across the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel.
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