Friday, December 19, 2014

Our Wacky World—12/19/2014

Why wait until New Year's Eve to look back on all the failed prophecy in 2014?


"Atheists don’t exist because God will not permit it."

Dispatches From The Culture Wars


Torture report brings out self-justifying bullshit:
'Two of the most brutal CIA interrogation tactics revealed in the Senate’s report on torture are little-known techniques called “rectal feeding” and “rectal hydration.” ...former CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden defended them Thursday as “medical procedures” necessary to get fluids into dehydrated detainees and were not used as “a method of interrogation.” Doctors and psychiatrists, however, said they have zero medical application and are nothing more than full-bore torture methods that no medical professional should ever be a party to.'
They did it to keep us safe from terrorists. (IBtimes)

"Among the report's most striking revelations is that CIA interrogators were often untrained and in some instances made up torturous techniques as they went along."
Somewhat reminiscent of the "plan" for rebuilding Iraq. If you haven't heard, Cheney et al are still all for torture. (Mother Jones)


But it gets worse:
"NBC News investigative reporter Matthew Cole has pieced together a remarkable story revealing that a single senior officer, who is still in a position of high authority over counterterrorism at the C.I.A.—a woman who he does not name—appears to have been a source of years’ worth of terrible judgment, with tragic consequences for the United States. Her story runs through the entire report. She dropped the ball when the C.I.A. was given information that might very well have prevented the 9/11 attacks; she gleefully participated in torture sessions afterward; she misinterpreted intelligence in such a way that it sent the C.I.A. on an absurd chase for Al Qaeda sleeper cells in Montana. And then she falsely told congressional overseers that the torture worked."
The New Yorker


Christian 12 Step meetings for gays sounds like a blast:
'How would they counsel someone who was quite normal but happened to be gay? I told the group I’d never touched drugs or alcohol and that I’d been in one long, monogamous relationship. “CANNIBALISM!” the group shouted in near-unison. The leader explained cannibalism, again slowly stressing one word at a time: “You take on the attributes of the other person.”'
If you're gay before starting a relationship are you more gay 17 years later? If you're straightedge and in a hetero relationship for say 17 years and you "take on the attributes of the other person" (which happens to most people) what is that called "cannabalism" as well? (Dispatches From The Culture Wars)


"A new reality series slated for A&E will feature a cop-turned-pastor intent on saving sex workers' souls by luring them to hotel rooms and then lecturing them on national television. Once he has sex workers cornered, pastor Kevin Brown has eight minutes to convince them of the error of their whorin' ways."
Reason

"Narcissistic parents are piling pressure on their children by giving them wacky names and lying about their academic achievements"
No shit. (Doubtful News)



More info on one of the "doctors" who "treated" Glenn Beck's "illness":
'Wilson...says his book on adrenal fatigue has been “received enthusiastically by physicians.” Not exactly. ...the world’s largest association of people with formal, legitimate training in the treatment of adrenal disorders...says that adrenal fatigue is “not a real medical condition.” The group goes on to say that the diagnostic tests are “not based on scientific facts or supported by good scientific studies”... The statement concludes by urging patients “not to waste precious time accepting an unproven diagnosis.” Endocrinologists apparently do not beat around the bush.'
Slate


I think she means "vested interest":
'She said she can feel when a neighbor's meter is replaced with a smart meter. She now runs a website...that sells equipment to monitor radio frequencies and items to shield people from them, including $1,100 bed canopies. "Don't tell the commission that," she said... "Do I have a vast interest in this, yeah. Do I have a vast interest in keeping people alive? Yes I do."
AZ Central


Feng shui kills:
'Loyola said the club’s “swing-in” doors, the main the reason why the panicked patrons were trapped, were installed that way because the owners thought it to be good feng shui: “It would bring the money in.”'
Inquirer.net

"FOX23 went to the Family Dollar store in north Tulsa near East Pine Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to find out more about how the rings ended up being sold. They observed another ten to fifteen more swastika rings in the machine mixed in with other jewelry that featured dinosaurs and happy faces."
Crooks & Liars