FBI Release Whitney Houston Files

Newly released documents, though heavily redacted, shed light on pressure the singer faced from blackmailers and obsessives.

The FBI has released 128 pages from its file on Whitney Houston, revealing details of an apparently successful blackmail plot, as well as an investigation into an obsessed fan.

Released in response to a freedom of information request, the FBI's documents cover 11 years of threats against the singer, from 1988 to 1999. But the pages are heavily redacted – in many cases, to the point of incomprehensibility.

Sometimes the redactions are tantalising. In late 1992, an unidentified Chicago lawyer wrote to Houston's New Jersey-based production company stating that unless the singer paid $100,000 (£66,000), his client planned to "reveal certain details of Houston's private life … to several publications". Later the blackmail amount was boosted even higher, to $250,000 (£165,000).

According to the FBI, this was extortion. But when agents met with Houston and her father, the singer said she knew the woman who was making the threats, and that she was "a friend … [who] would never do anything to embarrass her". Officers closed the case, even though Houston's father had apparently sent the blackmailer a confidentiality agreement and an unknown sum of money.

In addition to the extortion case, officers investigated several cases of over-devoted fans. One Vermont letter-writer claimed: "I start to shake … when I think about you."

"Over the past 17 months, I have sent … 66 letters to Miss Whitney," he wrote. "I have tried to stop writing the letters and to give up twice but after a few weeks I had to start writing again … I have gotten mad at [Whitney] a few times [for not replying] … it scares me that I might come up with some crazy or stupid or really dumb idea … I might hurt someone with some crazy idea."

FBI agents eventually questioned Houston's one-sided pen-pal in 1988. They decided he was harmless. The same was true for a Dutch or Belgian correspondent who insisted he had written some of Houston's songs. The writer further claimed that he was the president of Europe and had purchased the country of Brazil for $66bn.

After selling more than 200m records worldwide, Houston drowned in a hotel bathtub in February 2012. She was 48.

Groundhog Day: Punxsutawney Phil Predicts An Early Spring

Also known as woodchucks, groundhogs are part
of the Marmot family (large ground squirrels).

It is groundhog day in the States today after a hard winter for the Americans, including hurricanes and heavy snow. The famous groundhog, Phil, from the US state of Pennsylvania has emerged from his home and did not see his shadow signalling in an early spring.

The tradition of Groundhog day goes back generations to 1887 and involves the town's elders watching Punxsutawney Phil leave his lair, if he looks to his shadow, then there will be six weeks more cold weather. However, Phil did not look at his shadow this time round so there will be an earlier spring.

Groundhog day was made internationally famous by the 1993 film, groundhog day. This fame has attracted thousands of Americans as well as those from as far a fields as Europe and Australia to see Phil's opinion on the weather. 

17/06/12 UFO Object Found In The Baltic Sea

An x-ray image of the "UFO" from a satellite.

The thought of Aliens has always amazed the minds of the human race, however Swedish divers were sent to the bottom of the Baltic sea to investigate an unidentified object that was lying on the seabed.

The divers have linked the object to the shape of the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars, it was also curved at the side giving it a mushroom like appearance.

At the centre of the of the 60 metre diameter object there is an egg shaped hole that leads down into the object, also around this strange hole their are mysterious rock formations. Adding to the speculations, there appears to be something resembling soot, covering the rocks.

Diver Peter Lindberg explained that "At first we though it was only a stone, however this is something different entirely" he also added that "It is even more mysterious because there has never been any volcanic activity in the Baltic Sea."

A 300 metre runway trails behind the object implying that it skidded along the seabed before coming to a halt. The object was found in June of last year, however due to lack of funding and bad weather nothing was able to be conjured up until this year.

Lindberg also mentioned that they were looking for a World War 1 wreck, however their sonar on their ship picked up the strange object, in the past sonar technology has often got unearthly like objects confused with rock patterns. The Baltic sea is a treasure trove for wreck-hunters, because as much as 100,000 objects are thought to line the cold sea's seabed.

Overall I believe that this is a fascinating find because it shows they maybe there is more life out there than us, it also shows how we can band together in the name of science.

14/06/12 - Rude Airlines?

Does the future of cheap air travel come at the cost of common courtesy?

In recent years airplane safety has grown a lot and it is now considered for of the most safest ways to travel, however that does not seem to be the problem anymore.In the last month or so the Japaneese airline Skymark announced that it will no longer help the passengers on board the plane, these services include stowing luggage, being polite and they will not have to deal with customer complaints.The budget airline Skymark anounced an eight point plan in mid may, declaring what kind of services they are responsible for.The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Consumer Affairs Agency have requested that the company remove these notices.Skymark remarked their staff as being there to be safety personnel rather then being there to serve the passengers, the company also told their passngers not to complain to staff before take off as they wanted to make sure they were on time to take off.Passengers were instead told to take their complaints to the Consumer Affairs Agency.Hirohiko Fukushima, the head of the Consumer Affairs Agency commented "We cannot condone an attitude of directing complaints about a company's services to public orginisations."However on Wednesday the Airline gave into pressure and announced that it would revise the notice that it had made.