Banksy Street Sale, Syrian Chemical Weapons Cease - Fire and your comments - Truthloader

Hello and welcome to Truthloader's Monday show, featuring your comments as well as Iron Man, Bling bishops, and Banksy. But first up, and chemical weapons teams in Syria have begged opposing factions for shorrt-term cease-fires so they can get to some of the country's most at-risk sites. Ahmet Uzumcu, from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, says their teams, alongside UN inspectors, need safe passage through areas of intense conflict to make sure Syria's chemical weapons are destroyed safely after the country officially signed up to anti-weapons treaties on Monday. Syria is thought to have some 20 chemical weapons sites, and inspectors say that whilst Govenment forces had been trying to transport them safely they've only actually been able to get to five facilities so far. The team have already come under direct and indirect fire whilst in Syria, with firefights near their hotel. It's hoped a few short term ceasefires of a couple of hours or more could help them get the job done. Meanwhile, and this is pretty tragic, a video has emerged of kids in an allegedly rebel controlled area. A pretty tragic interpretation of the idea of war games. And now it's time for your comments. And after inadvertantly admitting our love of unicorns last week SOT, you took to the Monday show in your... five or so to tell us how much you loved unicorns too. Using unicorns to try and get on the Monday show. You cynical ***. You won't get through that easily. But maybe if you wrote a poem... In our piece on Counterterrorism under Obama, DarkTurtleyGwego wrote "I love your country (that's America), at least what it's founded on, but I hate what has become of it. Nine people agreed with that. Meanwhile in our piece on a new chemical which could protect the brain agains the effects of Alzheimer's, Hans Blitz wrote, The FDA won't approve it if it works too well. BigPharmaCorp will be sure of that. They don't want to cure diseases, they want to keep sick people alive as long as possible so they can sell them medicine. Controversial, possibly, but 13 people agreed with you Hans. And now on to some of the other stories we found and liked this week. And first up, the US Army has announced plans to research Iron Man style body armour. Whilst exoskeletons allowing superhuman strength have been tested before, the army is calling on industry and the government to develop the next generation - a skeleton equipped with sensors, smart fibres, networking capabilities and wearable computing, with hydraulics to greatly increase the wearers strength in real time. The Army's pretty sure no one company can build the so-called Talos, or Tactical Assault Light operator Suit, but it will be a melting pot of different research, including MIT's current attempts at a liquid body armour which becomes solid when currents are passed through it. Despite being a monumental feat of engineering, the Army hopes to be field testing the suit within just three years. Next up, and you know that thing about material possessions being unimportant in the face of spiritual wealth and the pursuit of eternal enlightenment in the arms of the almighty creator that most religions have? Well German Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst might have something to say about that. He's facing calls for his resignation after spending 31 million euros, that's £26 million, $42 million or six times the original estimates on his residency in Limburg. German's all pay a compulsary tax based on their income to the Church, so the spending has undestandably caused some consternation, with Franz-Peter being dubbed the luxury bishop and protestors holding vigil outside his house and the city's Cathedral. He himself insists he doesn't have a pompous lifestyle, but nevertheless has been ordered to Rome to explain his spending to senior figures. He's not yet explained exactly where all the money went publically, but has reportedly flown to Rome via budget airline. Every little helps. And finally street art legend *** anti-art activist Banksy has been selling off some of his latest works in New York. But far from a poncy auction in a champagne filled gallery, this was the saleroom, a stall in Central Park where the artworks, sort-of disguised as knock-offs, were flogged for just $60 apiece by an old man. Who, as far as we know, wasn't Banksy. Amazingly, just three people grabbed the works, one man in Chicago bought four to decorate his walls, a Mum bought two for her kids after negotiating a two for one offer, and a New Zealand tourist bought two as well. The days takings were just a few hundred pounds, but the works are estimated to be worth up to £30,000 each, meaning the buyers got a bit of a bargain. Banksy's in New York at the moment but why he pulled the stunt is a bit of a mystery. To make someone's day? Simply as a stunt? For the thrill? Or to pull one over on the art world and it's placing arbitrary values on inherently low-value objects? No one knows, he probably just did it for art. That's it for this week, as always do that like and share thing y'all do so well, subscribe if you're new and we'll keep on bringing you awesome videos.