Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Our Wacky World—6/15/2012

"The movement of the [rats] is tracked on a laptop, which uses an icon-based interface specially designed for people who may have little experience with computers. It maps out potential land mines, will produce a map for the site's clearance, and identify safe routes through the area."
The Register


Get ready for the latest date on the Cosmic Calendar:
"This Date was the Mystery in this Parable for ages past, and has been now unlocked. ‘The Mystery Unlocked’ brings the good news announcing the Day, 24th July 2012 of His Return (as revealed and documented in this book, to this servant of God), of the of the WEDDING INVITATION Date, when the faithful Bride of Christ only, will be ‘Raptured / Gathered up’ at Christ Coming, into the Banquet which God holds for His Son – Jesus."
The Mystery Unlocked

"A Texas family says they are getting strength from an image of Jesus they found in the mold growing inside the shower of their home."

"...the symptoms of 'hysteria'—a catch-all diagnosis for a slew of vexing lady problems that dates back a couple millennia—included fainting, anxiety, sleeplessness, irritability, nervousness and 'a tendency to cause trouble for others.' ...since at least the second century, a good orgasm, or rather 'hysterial paroxysm,' was considered a suitable treatment—at least when practiced by a medical professional. Check out our illustrated history of hysteria—and the early sex toys used to treat it—from the time of Hippocrates to today."
Mother Jones


In other medical news, there's a new miracle treatment that consists of giving industrial bleach enemas. To children. But now the practitioners of this dubious regimen have taken umbrage with...the word "bleach". One of them has started a petition demanding that their critics stop using the word "bleach". And it appears to be working as they now have 47 52 out of the 100,000 signatures they're asking for.

I guess it all depends on your definition of "working". Someone should start a petition for that.


"On Monday, the FEC alleged that [former Senator Larry] Craig used campaign donations from supporters as his own personal piggy bank to to try to reverse his plea. The commission said he paid $139,952 to the Washington, D.C. law firm of Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan and another $77,032 to the Minneapolis firm of Kelly & Jacobson."
TPM

"Believing he was handling an unloaded gun, an 18-year-old accidentally shot himself in the head during a webcam chat early Wednesday when the person on the other end of the conversation challenged the teen's manhood"


Richard Feynman vs. Cold War bureaucracy:
"Despite the FBI’s surreptitious surveillance, Feynman had actually alerted the State Department first thing upon receiving the invitation, hoping to receive guidance and indicating that he would be happy to help serve the United States’ propaganda interests abroad, or to simply decline the invitation outright. The letter was immediately forwarded to J. Edgar Hoover, the then-director of the FBI. 
Ce ne sont pas les diagrammes Feynman
"Appearing incapable of making an independent decision to Feynman’s travels, the State Department waited two months to hear back from the FBI, which provided a brief summary of Feynman’s history and merely stated that it 'is not to be construed as a clearance or a nonclearance of the individual involved.' The declassified documents portray the FBI’s tacit monitoring and restraint in taking any direct actions against Richard Feynman."
Muck Rock

"The votes are in and it is unanimous: Barack Obama will win re-election to the U.S. presidency in November, according to five astrologers who offered predictions at their convention on Tuesday."
Reuters


You heard about the white supremacist who killed 77 people in Norway, right? His defense is...that he did it:
"Following objections from lawyers for survivors and family members of Breivik's victims, defence lawyer Geir Lippestad insisted the testimony was necessary to show that his client was sane. 'Our aim is not to argue in favour of a political opinion but to show that the way the accused views the world is shared by others' 
"Breivik, 33, is intent on proving his sanity to ensure that his ideology -- described as a crusade against multiculturalism and a pending 'Muslim invasion' of Norway and Europe -- not be written off as the rantings of a lunatic."
France24

I need to change that to "narcissistic white supremacist".

My plug is working just fine