Our Wacky World—1/18/2015

"Ghost Ship Filled With Ebola-Ridden Rats Heading For Florida"

Wow, staunch American right-wingers standing shoulder to shoulder with a far-left satirical magazine in… France. What a bunch of idiots. And then:

"France Follows Freedom of Speech Rally With Crackdown On Free Speech"

Turley's Blog


One reason why people confess to crimes they didn't commit–false memories:

"Our findings show that false memories of committing crime with police contact can be surprisingly easy to generate, and can have all the same kinds of complex details as real memories"

I can think of some witnesses who had false memories, too. (The Register)

For those who want more:

"Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas movie was such a bomb that he wants you to stay awake so you can watch it many more times by selling you coffee."

Dispatches From The Culture Wars

"Nearly five years after it hit best-seller lists, a book that purported to be a 6-year-old boy’s story of visiting angels and heaven after being injured in a bad car crash is being pulled from shelves. The young man at the center of The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven, Alex Malarkey, said this week that the story was all made up."

Doubtful News

'What do real-world doctors have to say about the advice dispensed on The Dr. Oz Show? Less than one-third of it can be backed up by even modest medical evidence. If that sounds alarming, consider this: Nearly 4 in 10 of the assertions made on the hit show appear to be made on the basis of no evidence at all.'

LA Times

But at least Oz is calling out that damned "gluten-free" rip-off.

Rejoice. The Discovery Channel won''t be running any more of that mega-shark crap anymore–supposedly:

"Discovery Channel’s new president Rich Ross...said repeatedly that he’ll be moving...away from scripted, fake things, and even from sensational stunts such as Eaten Alive"

Yeah, right. (Reality Blurred)


Sarah Palin vs. PeTA—how can that not be hilarious?:

"I believe you call those discarded funky eggs “caviar”."

She seems to have confused animal rights nuts with her vision of the hated "liberals". She only attacked caviar so that "regular folks" who can't afford it will agree with her. (Crooks & Liars)

But we can't have a dust-up without someone in "the media" screaming "false equivalence":

"Palin struck back by zeroing in with the real reason that groups like PETA have lost influence and credibility: the double standard they employ, denouncing certain behavior by the people they oppose while excusing the same behavior by people they support. Where was the organization last year, she asked, when the liberal talk show hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, posted a similar photo of a girl standing on a dog?"

This after tone-deaf false equivalence from someone who has never had any credibility. Add CNN to the list. (CNN)

'According to the survey, which analyzed responses from 73 men attending the same college, 31.7 percent of participants said they would act on “intentions to force a woman to sexual intercourse” if they were confident they could get away with it. When asked whether they would act on “intentions to rape a woman” with the same assurances they wouldn’t face consequences, just 13.6 percent of participants agreed…'

Dispatches From The Culture Wars


In Frederick County, Maryland, you have to ask a council member for permission to use his name in a newspaper article:

“Use my name again unauthorized and you’ll be paying for an attorney.”

Crooks & Liars

"Uri Geller to unveil Throne of Spoons -- The Sonning spoonbender had a hand-made throne containing more than 2,000 spoons made to coincide with cereal giant Kellogg's latest project"

Get Reading

"While a manicurist in California must complete 400 hours of training to be licensed, an armed guard gets authorized after 54 hours, including just 14 hours of firearms training. In 15 states, no firearms training is required at all."

CNN

'In January, TLC will air a special titled My Husband’s Not Gay featuring three married Mormon couples in which the husband is, in fact, gay — as well as one single man who identifies as homosexual, but is actively seeking a wife…. When one of the wives is asked whether her husband a homosexual, she replies, “I get a little defensive when somebody calls my husband gay” — even though earlier in the video, her husband admitted that he was primarily attracted to men'

Raw Story


Not spelling god with a capital G? You've met your match:

"...we’re talking about grammar. When you don’t capitalize a proper name like God’s, you’re violating a fundamental principle of grammar."

I'm all for proper grammar having paid attention in English class but all I can say to this person is fuck You. (Butterflies and Wheels)

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

Our Wacky World—11/20/2014

Headline O' The Week: "Authorities Have No Idea How Family Bought LSD-Contaminated Beef At Walmart"

Shorter Richard Dawkins—"Help, help, I'm being repressed":

“I feel muzzled, and a lot of other people do as well,” [Dawkins] continued. “There is a climate of bullying, a climate of intransigent thought police which is highly influential in the sense that it suppresses people like me.”

Dispatches From The Culture Wars


$6.75 million in judgement and settlements to family fingered by "facilitated communication":

'...a controversial method known as "facilitated communication," had been widely debunked in the last two decades. Nevertheless, Oakland County [prosecutors] pressed on...even as news reports showed the method was unreliable. 

'Ian...was interrogated for two hours by West Bloomfield police who told him they had videotape of his father assaulting his sister. Police never had such a tape and the claim was a lie that a psychologist would later testify left the boy traumatized. Jurors did watch a video showing Ian's interrogation, in which the boy, then 13, doubled over in tears.'

Only took seven years. [Detroit Free Press]


Glenn Beck "reveals" that he had a mystery "illness" that made him "crazy"; was "cured" by "chiropractic neurologist":

"Most harrowingly, Beck said that at one point he took a traumatic brain injury test at a hospital in New York City and scored in the bottom 10 percent. Doctors told him he would have between 5 and 10 years before he would no longer be able to function. He then began to search for a successor at TheBlaze."

So I guess now he'll be shilling for Ted Carrick as well as gold and silver dealers. [Crooks & Liars]

'An anti-gay US pastor has warned his flock against drinking Starbucks coffee, claiming it is flavoured with the "semen of sodomites… They're putting it into the blends of coffees that they sell".

IBTimes


Worried about reinforcing stereotypes online? Don't call yourself the "Food Babe" and give brainless advice about, say, travel:

"The air you are breathing on an airplane is recycled from directly outside of your window. That means you are breathing everything that the airplanes gives off and is flying through. The air that is pumped in isn’t pure oxygen either, it’s mixed with nitrogen, sometimes almost at 50%. To pump a greater amount of oxygen in costs money in terms of fuel and the airlines know this! The nitrogen may affect the times and dosages of medications, make you feel bloated and cause your ankles and joints swell."

Jesus christ, I'm breathing 78% nitrogen right now! No wonder I feel like shit. [NeuroLogica]

"I have autism-induced breast cancer (AIBC). While I am not absolutely certain that the 1.9 centimeter lump that grew in my left breast is the result of the stress of raising two autistic children, all indications point in that direction. There is virtually no cancer in my family, I eat organically, I exercise, I’m a good weight. OK, so I live in the toxic dump known as New Jersey, but that is the only other major risk factor. No, the drop in cortisol levels whenever one kid’s school calls or the other kid has a public “flare up” is enough for the cancer to take root."

 Stress causes a drop in cortisol levels? [Respectful Insolence]


Oxygen helps anti-oxidants?

"Oxygen is a miracle, an anti aging miracle! Oxygen therapy can help to jump start the body’s antioxidant defenses and ability to fight free radicals, boost metabolism, and counteract the hypoxia (low oxygen level) that leads to slower cell activity and oxidative stress. Research has shown that oxygen therapy can help to improve the efficiency of hemoglobin in transporting oxygen around the body, improve blood flow by helping to keep cell membranes flexible, and detoxify and fight infection by destroying bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi that thrive in low-oxygen environments and don’t have the antioxidant resources to fight back. 

"However, none of these benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been clinically proven."

Science Based Medicine

'Ultimately, the claim involving a 666 on Monster energy drink cans relies on the incorrect assumption the three claw marks comprising the logo represent three iterations of the Hebrew symbol "Vav," resulting in a Hebrew equivalent of "666." But "666" in Hebrew would be written "Samech Resh Tav Vav," or "six hundred sixty-six.'

The author of Revelation did not know about place notation. It hadn't been invented yet. [Snopes]