The new year approaches, and according to the Chinese zodiac sign calendar it will be the year of the monkey. Just what kind of monkey business awaits the animal in its namesake year is anybody's guess. The hunch is there will be no lack of such activity.
Indeed, the all but ended 2003, which was the year of the sheep, was not lacking in distinctly dubious, unsheeplike developments.
On the global stage, there was the strange incident of the unfound weapons of mass destruction. Like Sherlock Holmes' dog that did not bark in the night, these WMD remain conspicuous for their absence.