'Filipino Monkey' Nearly Tricks America Into World War III

It was so scary when little Iranian motorboats did loops around American warships in the Persian Gulf last week. The U.S. ships were apparently seconds away from blasting the tiny speedboats, all because of a threatening radio message assumed to be from the scary Iranians. Now the Navy says the scary transmission could have come from a well-known "radio prankster" called the Filipino Monkey.

Oh, yeah, the Filipino Monkey! We've totally heard about him. He's the one who helps America backpeddle from the verge of war after a nonsensical pissing contest in the Persian Gulf.

Rick Hoffman, a retired captain, told the paper: "For 25 years, there's been this mythical guy out there who, hour after hour, shouts obscenities and threats. He used to go all night long. The guy is crazy. Could it have been a spurious transmission? Absolutely."

 Mischievous 'Filipino Monkey' could have triggered latest US-Iran row [ Guardian Unlimited ]