Stupid People Doing Stupid Things Thread - Part 2

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

I would say I personally know between 100-150 people on there at least.

 

[Teelie]

California measles cases still increasing

This is what this thread is all about. People with astounding ignorance and denial are making measles resurge and spread to other children who have little resistence to catching it.

California health officials said Wednesday there are 79 confirmed measles cases in the state.

According to the California Department of Public Health website, 52 of those cases are linked to an outbreak at Disneyland.

There are four confirmed cases in Riverside County, where the Desert Sands Unified School District told 66 students -- who have either not been vaccinated for measles or can't show proof -- that they need to stay home.

CNN affiliate KESQ reported that one student at Palm Desert High School is suspected of having had measles. The student has been cleared to return to class but health officials are still trying to determine if the student actually had measles.

For now, the others will have to study at their homes.

"They are going to be asked to stay home until the incubation period for contagion is complete," a spokeswoman for the school district, Mary Perry, said of the students who were released. The earliest a student can return without proof of vaccination is February 9, the station reported.

There are 16 cases linked to Disneyland outside California (seven in Arizona, three in Utah, two in Washington, one in Colorado, one in Oregon, one in Nebraska and one in Mexico).

Arizona officials said they have identified 1,000 contacts of the seven cases in their states. They're asking anyone within that group to isolate themselves for 21 days if he or she isn't vaccinated.

The disease outbreak became apparent when visitors reported coming down with measles after visiting the park from December 15 to December 20. At least five Disney employees have been diagnosed with measles, Disney said.

Also, the families of 195 children in Mesa, Arizona, have been contacted because they were in an urgent care clinic with someone who has measles.

Measles is a highly communicable respiratory disease caused by a virus and spread through the air, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Measles starts with a fever, runny nose, cough, red eyes and sore throat, the CDC said.

CNN

And on the coattails of that is this very example of their arrogance.

It's an unseasonably warm day in Oakland, California, a perfect morning for Jennifer and Dave Simon to take their baby, Livia, out for a walk. But her stroller sits idle, and Livia is stuck inside the house -- as she has been for nearly a month.

Livia isn't sick, but doctors fear she might become the 53rd person to contract measles in a recent Disneyland outbreak. Now she's in a 28-day quarantine, because of a family that refused to vaccinate their child.

It started January 2, when the Simons took Livia, who had a cold, to the pediatrician. Two days later, the doctor's office called to say that a child with measles had been in the office that same day.

The Simons feared the worst.

One of the most contagious viruses on Earth, measles can hang in the air or on surfaces for hours. If she'd contracted the disease, Livia could become deaf or even die.

"We were really freaking out and really worried," Jennifer Simon said.

Then the Simons learned from a doctor that the child in the doctor's office had contracted measles because his parents had refused vaccination.

Livia, just 6 months old, is too young to be vaccinated.

"I'm angry," Simon said. "I've been upset that someone else's personal choice has impacted us so much."

In Alameda County, where Simon lives, nine infants were in quarantine as of Tuesday night because of the measles outbreak, a spokeswoman said.

Simon said she hopes families who opt not to immunize their children realize the full impact of their decision.

"Their choice endangered my child," she said.

She points out that vaccine refusers rely on other people to protect their children. It's called herd immunity. If the rest of the community is immune to disease, it helps keep the disease from spreading to those who are unvaccinated.

"You're basically relying on society but not giving back," she said.

Livia's quarantine ends Friday.

A happy baby, she doesn't seem to mind being at home, but it's disrupted the Simons' life and cost them money, as the couple had to miss work for several days and then bring Jennifer's mother in from Houston to stay home with Livia.

When asked what she would say to parents of the unvaccinated child, she said she would first ask whether their child was doing OK.

Then she would ask them a question: "Hey, you guys, what do you think about vaccines now?"

CNN

This is one of those emotional grab stories but it also pointedly makes clear anti-vaxxers are now actively harming other children with their refusal to do the right thing.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Anti-vaxxers piss me off so damn much.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Comcast Plays Cool Prank on Customer Who Tried to Cancel Her Cable

No secret that disconnecting from Comcast is the worst, but to add insult to injury, the company actually started insulting one couple who tried to end their cable service earlier this year.

Lisa and Ricardo Brown—now known to Comcast employees and postal workers as "A**hole Brown"—were reportedly having financial difficulties when they decided to cancel their monthly cable service.

But according to blogger Christopher Elliott, who first reported the couple's account, the company didn't make it easy: "Instead of complying immediately, a representative escalated [Lisa's] call to a retention specialist, who tried to persuade her to keep the cable service and sign a new two-year contract."

Lisa was eventually able to cancel her service, but things would never be the same, envelope-wise—the piqued phone representative immediately changed the couple's account name to "A**hole Brown."

Brown says she went public with the story after trying—to no avail—to get the company to stop calling her an a**hole every month. After Elliott contacted a representative on their behalf, the company reportedly apologized to the couple and offered to refund them full two years of cable service

http://elliott.org/is-this-enough-compensation/comcast-thinks-husband-ahole-put-writing/

What a jerk move

 

[Teelie]

Another day, another horror story of Comcast's business ethics.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

They really are the worst

 

[blksuperman2]

DJ Kiddvicious, would you happen to have Brighthouse? I use to work for a cable company who at one point had a large customer base in both Pinellas and Panama City and Brighthouse pretty much ran us out of town. (so to speak)

 

[C. Lee]

They really are the worst

Shouldn't the title of the article be - CRUEL prank instead of COOL prank?

 

[KevanG]

It's standard for companies to transfer you to a retention agent when you want to cancel. I did the job for 2+ years and was very good at it.

The ******* thing was way overboard though.

 

[Urich Leeds]

Comcast Plays Cool Prank on Customer Who Tried to Cancel Her Cable

http://elliott.org/is-this-enough-compensation/comcast-thinks-husband-ahole-put-writing/

What a jerk move

Stay classy, Comcast.

 

[Hobgoblin]

I dont often say this but...they should have sued.

 

[KevanG]

Well they are getting two years back. At $50/month (lower estimate to make it easy) that's $1200. Not bad.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

DJ Kiddvicious, would you happen to have Brighthouse? I use to work for a cable company who at one point had a large customer base in both Pinellas and Panama City and Brighthouse pretty much ran us out of town. (so to speak)

I do indeed have Brighthouse. They run everything in this part of town although Verizon Vios is making headway against them. I actualy am thinking about applying for customer service rep with Brighthouse but not sure if they will hire me because of my record. My friend works there and loves it

Shouldn't the title of the article be - CRUEL prank instead of COOL prank?

I think it was meant to be sarcastic

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Suge Knight Just Killed a Guy on a Movie Set

Death Row Records founder Suge Knight ran over a man, possibly killing him, during an argument on a film set where The Game, Ice Cube and Dr. Dre were filming, TMZ reports.

Suge Knight got into a fight on the set of a film project in Compton, and ran over a man and we're told the victim is dead.

We're told a fight broke out between Suge and 2 crew members. Suge got back into his car, took the wheel and threw the vehicle in reverse ... and ran over a bystander.

The website says Knight's claiming he feared for his safety from the crew members due to his "frail health" after he was shot six times this summer. Knight's also facing up to seven years in jail on another pending legal matter—he was arrested with Katt Williams in October for allegedly stealing a paparazzo's camera.

Update 9:30 p.m. Knight reportedly fled the scene and is currently preparing to turn himself into LAPD officers.

http://www.tmz.com/2015/01/29/suge-knight-car-accident-compton-man-run-over/

I'm sure this comes as no surprise to Vanilla Ice

 

[Marvolo]

I had never heard of Suge Knight until tonight and I still don't know why he is famous.

 

[blksuperman2]

I do indeed have Brighthouse. They run everything in this part of town although Verizon Vios is making headway against them. I actualy am thinking about applying for customer service rep with Brighthouse but not sure if they will hire me because of my record. My friend works there and loves it

I was just curious. They must be a pretty good provider.

I had never heard of Suge Knight until tonight and I still don't know why he is famous.

Suge Knight was the man behind Death Row Records which launched Dr. Dre and Snoop's careers. 2pac later signed and that started the whole west coast/ east coast beef. When 2pac was shot and killed Suge was actually driving the vehicle and there are reports that he intentionally avoided taking Pac to the nearest hospital. Many think that he had him killed.

Vanilla Ice also claims that Suge had him held over a balcony and threatened his life if he didn't sign royalty rights or something.

 

[KevanG]

Suge Knight is an *******. He's been tied to a lot of underhanded **** over the years and a lot of intimidation, violence and , in some cases, murder.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

America Likes Science. It Does Not Like Scientists' Findings.

Survey results published Thursday by the Pew Research Center in collaboration with the American Academy for the Advancement of Science indicate most Americans hold science in high esteem, while revealing huge opinion gaps between scientists and the general public over issues like GMOs and anthropogenic climate change.

The surveys' key findings are highlighted in a companion report co-authored by Lee Rainie and Cary Funk, the Pew Research Center's director of Internet, science and technology research and director of research, respectively. "Americans recognize the accomplishments of scientists in key fields and, despite considerable dispute about the role of government in other realms, there is broad public support for government investment in scientific research," the authors write.

For instance, 79% of the 2,002 adults surveyed said that "science has made life easier for most people." About seventy percent said that government investments in engineering, technology, and basic science typically pay off in the long run, and roughly 60% said that these investments were essential for scientific progress. And a majority of those polled said they felt "positive about science's impact on the quality of health care, food and the environment."

However, the surveys, which also polled American scientists belonging to AAAS, also revealed that researchers do not see eye-to-eye with the rest of the public on a number of science-related issues. The following table summarizes the range of issues in question, and the sizable gaps in opinion over said issues:

The biggest difference in opinion between scientists and the rest of the public – a 51-point gap – has to do with the safety of eating genetically modified foods.

Nearly nine out of ten AAAS scientists surveyed said it is generally safe to eat GM foods. Only about one in three members of the general public agreed. The report concludes one possible explanation for this particular divide could be that "two-thirds of the public (67%) say scientists do not have a clear understanding about the health effects of GM crops."

The Pew Research Center has released several summaries in conjunction with the complete, 111-page report, including a roundup of 5 key takeaways. The best reportage I've seen on the results has come from Nature's Erika Check Hayden, whose interviews with Daniel Sarewitz (a geoscientist and co-director of the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes at Arizona State University) and Dan Kahan (who teaches law and psychology at Yale Law School) offer counterpoints to some of the conclusions drawn in the Pew Research Center's report.

Kahan, for example, disagrees with the claim that these vast differences in opinion stem primarily from the public's distrust in science (he cites a similar Pew report from 2009 whose findings seem to contradict several of those drawn in its late-date counterpart). Sarewitz, for his part, takes issue with the Pew Center's polling methods, which lump all scientists into one, monolithic category.

"The very exercise itself is aimed, perhaps unintentionally, at perpetuating the lie that 'science' is one unified enterprise that can be meaningfully isolated from society," Sarewitz says, "and that scientists' views about issues outside of their specific domain of expertise are more imbued with objectivity and less clouded by bias or ignorance than the unwashed 'public'."

http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/29/public-and-scientists-views-on-science-and-society/

Yet another reason the average American is a moron

 

[KevanG]

The average person hears things spouted by idiots who refuse to understand any point but their own (the anti-vaxxer morons) and when there is overwhelming evidence pointed in the opposite direction but not screamed in their face a thousand time a days then they ignore it.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

They basically want all the cool crap science can do but don't want them to correct their mistaken beliefs with evidence since they already believe them haha freaking idiots

 

[KevanG]

Then they decide not to help get things funded (like NASA) because it's not giving them things NOW!

 

[Teelie]

I am definitely an outlier then since I agree with pretty most of that list. I don't think we should be off-shore drilling with the current lack of concern oil companies have for safety, the environment or anything that dares interfere with profits and fracking is definitely not something I think is acceptable for much the same reasons. GM foods though? I have no trouble eating them and cannot stand the alarmist ******** and conspiracy theories surrounding them.

 

[KevanG]

But it's *in a scary voice* GENETICALLY MODIFIED!!!

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

The GMO idiots annoy me to no end

 

[Teelie]

But it's *in a scary voice* GENETICALLY MODIFIED!!!

Most of what we eat is. The only difference is in the depth of how much it was modified. Corn (maize) in it's unmodified state looks like tall grass with none of it's characteristic shape, like the ears we eat. Almost everything we have domesticated is radically different from it's wild ancestors.