Weird News of the World Thread - Part 1

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

And that doctor and his paper have been discredited. Sadly the damage was done and idiots everywhere are actively killing children from their stupidity

 

[Marvolo]

How Anti-Vaxxers Ruined Disneyland For Themselves (And Everyone Else)

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/...-of-measles-in-california-20150121-story.html

Idiot ant-vaxxers, literally killing people with their stupidity

So it's a violation of anti-vaxxer's rights if we make them do something that's good for them and protects the populace but it's not a violation of other people's rights when anit-vaxxer's nonsense beliefs get others killed? Yeah that seems fair. Lets rule in favor of sickness and death. It's much better than logic and health and life.

 

[Victarion]

Somewhat related, I was reading a science publication last winter while waiting for my masters' program interview. Apparently they've had a recent scandal over in Japan where some scientists massaged their data in order to make publications and secure their careers.

 

[KevanG]

Science has been a for money thing for a long time now. If you can make a name for yourself, even on a BS topic and get some money off of that then you're set. If you can make a lot of hysteria and do some talkshows to get some money, no matter how much BS you sling then the worst you have to do is put through an apology/retraction when hysteria is at a high and no one will pay attention anyway.

 

[Teelie]

And that doctor and his paper have been discredited. Sadly the damage was done and idiots everywhere are actively killing children from their stupidity

And Jenny McCarthy is their leader. It says much about their future.

Somewhat related, I was reading a science publication last winter while waiting for my masters' program interview. Apparently they've had a recent scandal over in Japan where some scientists massaged their data in order to make publications and secure their careers.

I've seen bits and pieces of this reported on other sites about scientists massaging or even outright faking results although I had not seen it was a part of a larger scandal there.

I can't think of his name off hand but one scientist has had something like 80+ papers retracted.

 

[KevanG]

Let's follow the celebrity who must always know what she is talking about because she is famous despite having no background in any of what she professes to be an expert in because we're all mindless idiot sheep.

Bah!

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Teen Girl Pulled off $4 Million Hong Kong Diamond Heist

Police say they are searching for four diamond thieves after the theft of a diamond necklace worth more than $4.6 million in Hong Kong, Agence France-Presse reports. One of the thieves is reportedly a girl between 12 and 14 years old.

The three adults posed as "big spenders" to distract the shop's employees, an unnamed police source told the South China Morning Post.

Meanwhile, the girl stole a key to open the cabinet containing the necklace—"embedded with more than 30 diamonds totalling about 100 carats," the Post's source said—and lifted it off the display bust.

The other thieves, two women and one man, are all estimated to be aged between 30 and 40 years old. The four reportedly remained in the shop for about a half-hour before leaving without buying anything.

http://news.yahoo.com/hong-kong-pol...-032915336.html;_ylt=AwrTWf34KcNU5j4AcofQtDMD

This sounds like a job for Inspector Gadget!

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

SkyMall Files for Bankruptcy, Sends Man Back to Wretched Malls of Earth

SkyMall, the preferred shopping choice of Ambien-addled flyers everywhere, is broke. The company that owns the eclectic in-flight shopping catalog filed for bankruptcy on Thursday, in part because passengers prefer playing with their iPhones over buying weird crap from a magazine.

"With the increased use of electronic devices on planes, fewer people browsed the SkyMall in-flight catalog," Xhibit Corp Chief Executive Scott Wiley said yesterday, according to the Wall Street Journal. In-flight access to WiFi, Wiley added, "resulted in additional competition from e-commerce retailers and additional competition for the attention of passengers, all of which further negatively impacted SkyMall's catalog sales."

Damn. Where will the next generation of trapped travelers buy Cobra Goddesses Sconces, Basho the Sumo Wrestler Table, or human slingshots?

But all is not lost, at least not yet. Wiley said the company is looking for a buyer and will continue "scaled-down business operations" until they find one.

http://news.yahoo.com/in-flight-catalog-skymall-files-for-bankruptcy-150831355.html

Anyone know anybody that actually bought junk from SkyMall?

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Car Manufacturers Have Been Faking Our Engine Noises Is Nothing Sacred

If you bought a car recently, I'm sorry to tell you your "badass" engine noise is probably just a recording of someone else's badass engine, and there's nothing you can do about it.

Car manufacturers including BMW, Ford, Porsche and Volkswagen, have apparently slipping extremely quiet engines into your vehicles for a while now, the Washington Post reports.

Car companies are increasingly wary of alerting buyers that they might not be hearing the real thing, and many automakers have worked with audio and software engineers to make their cars' synthesized engine melody more realistic.

Volkswagen uses what's called a "Soundaktor," a special speaker that looks like a hockey puck and plays sound files in cars such as the GTI and Beetle Turbo. Lexus worked with sound technicians at Yamaha to more loudly amplify the noise of its LFA supercar toward the driver seat.

Some, including Porsche with its "sound symposer," have used noise-boosting tubes to crank up the engine sound inside the cabin. Others have gone further into digital territory: BMW plays a recording of its motors through the car stereos, a sample of which changes depending on the engine's load and power.

The trickery is sadly necessary, as the Post points out, for electric cars, which have totally silent engines and are apparently extremely dangerous to "inattentive pedestrians and the blind."

But for everyone else, it's just another reminder to trust no one: the quieter engines are actually a good thing—it's because they're more fuel efficient—but bad for sales. Turns out our fuel-efficient cars have been running on BS this whole time.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...b09a10-a0ba-11e4-b146-577832eafcb4_story.html

Those sneaky bastards

 

[KevanG]

That cat looks terrified. I wonder how much money people spent of that skymall crap when hooked up to small IVs of booze and tripping on medication?

That car piece is hilarious.

 

[TheDreamMaster]

That cat looks terrified. I wonder how much money people spent of that skymall crap when hooked up to small IVs of booze and tripping on medication?

That car piece is hilarious.

It almost looks like they decapitated the cat (from another picture) and just stuck it into the black void of that liter thing.

 

[Docker2.0]

SkyMall Files for Bankruptcy, Sends Man Back to Wretched Malls of Earth

http://news.yahoo.com/in-flight-catalog-skymall-files-for-bankruptcy-150831355.html

Anyone know anybody that actually bought junk from SkyMall?

Anyone surprised? They tend to overprice crap anyway.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

30 Elite Filipino Police Killed in "Misencounter" with Militants

More than 30 elite Filipino police commandos were killed during an attempt to capture a terror suspect, the Associated Press reported. The raid resulted in a "misencounter" with members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a Muslim militant group that won semi-autonomy last year after four decades of fighting, Mamasapano's mayor told the AP.

Mohagher Iqbal, chief negotiator for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), told local outlet Minda News that a team from the Philippine National Police Special Action Force descended upon the in the village of Tukanalipao, in Mamasapano town—an area which is controlled by MILF and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF)—without communicating with local authorities.

The MILF signed a peace deal with the Philippines government last March, brokered by the Malaysian government, after nearly 45 years of armed conflict that left some 120,000 people dead and 2 million displaced.

A BIFF spokesperson told Minda News that the gunfight started when police forces descended upon the house of a MILF commander named Ustadz Manan.

An army spokesperson told Reuters that police had intended to arrest Zulkifli bin Hir, who is believed to be a member of terror group Jemaah Islamiyah's central command and has a $5 million bounty on his head, according to the National Counterterrorism Center's website.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/3b90...filipino-police-commandos-killed-clash-rebels

MILF and BIFF huh? Their acronym game is pretty weak

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Someone Is Giving Away This Bike-Powered Star Destroyer On Craigslist

Do you live in Portland? Are you a giant Star Wars fan? Do you have a 22-foot long empty space in your garage? Then man oh man, Craigslist has the best present ever for you.

Up for grabs is this bike-powered Star Destroyer, exactly like the one Darth Vader rode around the galaxy. Just like Vader's ride, this is constructed from PVC piping, with weather (and space)-resistant coroplast coverings. Power comes from the four cyclists (not included).

Best of all, the owners are giving away this engineering masterpiece for free, since they don't have the space to store it any more (although the listing explicitly states that it splits into two sections for 'easier storage', so that can't be the real reason). All you'll need to pick it up is three (3) friends willing to put their heads inside a giant wooden neck-snapping machine, or a very large truck. Happy Craigslisting.

http://laughingsquid.com/a-22-foot-...le-for-free-on-craigslist-in-portland-oregon/

That is hilarious!

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Another Study Finds E-Cigs May Contain Formaldehyde

Science is back with more sobering news about vaping. A letter published in the New England Journal of Medicine claims that vapor produced by electronic cigarettes contains a high concentration of formaldehyde, a known carcinogen. But don't panic quite yet.

These types of experiments tend to be pretty controversial and basically divisive. We already knew from multiple past studies that e-cig vapor can include dangerous chemicals like formalehyde, not to mention awful-sounding crap like acetaldehyde, toluene, cadmium, nickel, and lead. The real question is how much, and does it mean vaping is dangerous, and does it mean it's just as dangerous as combustible cigarettes.

The NEJM letter is based on an experiment headed by Portland State University chemistry professor David Peyton. He explained the experiment thusly to NPR:

We simulated vaping by drawing the vapor—the aerosol—into a syringe, sort of simulating the lungs. To our surprise, we found masked formaldehyde in the liquid droplet particles in the aerosol. We found this form of formaldehyde at significantly higher concentrations than even regular cigarettes [contain]—between five[fold] and fifteenfold higher concentration of formaldehyde than in cigarettes. Long-term exposure is recognized as contributing to lung cancer.

That sounds bad. However, vaping advocates are quick to point out how the study simulated vaping, perhaps in a manner that's not entirely true to how people actually do it. There are many other variables in an experiment like this, like the brand of e-liquid or the voltage used.

In other words, just because the scientists were able to find large amounts of formaldehyde in a vaporized e-cig liquid, that doesn't necessarily mean large amounts of formaldehyde fill the lungs of people who vape. What happens in the lab is not necessarily the same as what happens in the streets.

We know cigarettes are damn dangerous. Vaping, however, is a newer thing that we know less about. More research needs to be done before the verdict on e-cig safety is in. That said, there is mounting evidence that shows how vaping isn't as safe as some like to think. Past studies show, for instance, that vaping alters cells a lot like smoking tobacco does.

So does this new study mean you should stop vaping? That depends. Would you be smoking cigarettes instead?

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc1413069

All I know right now is it's better than me smoking cigs

 

[Docker2.0]

30 Elite Filipino Police Killed in "Misencounter" with Militants

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/3b90...filipino-police-commandos-killed-clash-rebels

MILF and BIFF huh? Their acronym game is pretty weak

MILF and Bangsoboro? I thought this was a commercial for Bang Bros for a minute. Crap! I'm going to Philippines in a month for 3 weeks. Don't tell me I have to worry about terrorists again!

 

[Teelie]

Again? I thought it was a recurring issue in the Philippines with terrorism? Not large scale necessarily but they do have flare ups frequently enough.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Somebody Totally Prank Called That Nerd David Cameron

A prank caller posing as the head of Britain's GCHQ intelligence agency was able to get through to prime minister maker of very serious phone calls David Cameron on Sunday, The Guardian reports.

The prankster identified himself as GCHQ director Robert Hannigan. The Guardian reports that government officials say that the conversation was very brief, and no sensitive information was discussed.

Someone also got their hands on Hannigan's personal cell phone number, and called it. What even is going on over there?

"Following two hoax calls to government departments today," a government spokesperson told The Guardian. "A notice has gone out to all departments to be on the alert for such calls."

http://www.theguardian.com/politics...through-to-prime-minister-phone-david-cameron

That has got to be the ultimate goal for all prank callers

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Ex-Fox News Employee Commits Suicide Outside of News Corp. Headquarters

A man who reportedly worked for a Fox affiliate in Austin, Texas, killed himself this morning in front of Manhattan's News Corporation building, which contains the Fox News headquarters.

A law enforcement official told the Wall Street Journal that Phillip Perea shot himself in the chest around 9 a.m. after he handed out fliers about how Fox News "ended [his] career."

News of the shooting was apparently broken by Geraldo Rivera.

Just hours before committing suicide, Perea tweeted a link to to a YouTube series he'd apparently created called "The American Workplace Bully: How FOX News Ended My Career."

YouTube Vid: The American Workplace Bully: How FOX News Ended My Career

Perea claims in the video that "managerial bullying"—which he blamed on Fox News—led to him being fired from his job as a promotions producer for KTBC in Austin. According to a recording he provided to the Austin Chronicle for an unrelated story, Perea was suspended from KTBC by General Manager Michael Lewis in May for using inappropriate language and not following directions. Clips from that recording appear to be the same ones at the start of the YouTube video embedded above.

Several other of his recent tweets were aimed at Fox News.

Perea was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later. A suicide note and a gun were recovered at the scene, according to the WSJ.

http://nypost.com/2015/01/26/man-shot-outside-news-corp-building-in-nyc/

Very bizarre and tragic story here

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Vatican Adopts Balloons as Symbols of Satan's Power

Yesterday, the Catholic Church released hordes of colorful balloons in St. Peter's Square, a gesture meant to symbolize the triumph of Satan's power over life on earth.

Traditionally, the church released doves on the last Sunday in January to celebrate peace. Last year, Satan, fed up with this blatant and ongoing assault on his sensibilities, sent black predator birds to ruthlessly slaughter the innocent doves as they floated above horrified onlookers. The Catholic church, duly chastened and put in its place, released only balloons this year, as if to bow their head before Lucifer and humbly say: "All power is yours. Our prayers are but fanciful toys in your mighty hands. No matter how much we may beseech our god to protect us from your wrath, we know in our heart of hearts that all that stands between us and ignoble death is your whim. Have mercy upon us, Lord of Darkness. We worship you above all."

Satan's next scheduled public appearance will be during the entirety of the Super Bowl halftime show.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...c74200-a490-11e4-a162-121d06ca77f1_story.html

Seems like they shouldn't have gave in

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

What People Google About Sex, According To The Numbers

People type their deepest, darkest secrets and fears into Google, all in search for answers. Sex, while a taboo subject, is no different.

The New York Times took a look at the data behind Google searches, and what they've found is mighty interesting.

What do people pair the most with the word "marriage," for example? Sexless marriage, which average 21,090 searches a month. Curiously, according to the numbers, more people search "my boyfriend won't have sex with me" on Google than they do "my girlfriend won't have sex with me." It's the complete opposite when it involves married folks, however—more people search "my wife won't have sex with me" than they do "my husband won't have sex with me."

Where it gets really interesting is when you look at what people lie about. According to the General Social Survey, men say they have sex about 63 times a year, and they allegedly only use condoms in 23% of those acts. Women say they have sex a little less: 55 times a year, with condoms being used in 16% of those acts. That's what people say, but not actually what they do. According to actual condom sales, only about 600 million condoms are used a year. Compare that to the alleged 1.6 and 1.1 billion condoms that men and women say they use a year, respectively. Hmm!

And finally, people sure do love to Google search their questions about *****. Penis-related questions are Googled 10 times as much as other body parts. Within that, the top questions about "my penis" are all related to size, because of course they are.

Here are the average monthly searches about ***** (more specifically, "my penis"), in graph form:

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/01/2...ching-for-sex.html?ref=opinion&_r=0&referrer=

Some curious facts

 

[Teelie]

This is an update from the Utah family that was found dead in their home back in September. As was suspected, they did commit murder-suicide.

According to a statement released by J. Scott Finlayson, chief of police for Springville, the parents had bought into "a concern about a pending apocalypse."

From interviews with friends and relatives of the Strack family, the statement said, "it became fairly apparent that the topic of 'leaving' this world was a fairly common theme."

It added, "While some friends thought that suicide may have been, or could have been included in their plans, others believed they were going to move somewhere and live off the grid."

Tragically, the parents chose the former option, police believe, and took their children with them.

[...]

They didn't leave behind many clues to their thinking. Investigators found a notebook with the kind of handwritten lists parents write before going on vacation -- like feeding the pets and asking someone to watch after the house -- but no suicide notes were uncovered.

However, one note was found apparently written by Benson (one of the children, age 14) to a friend, "which indicated that Benson was aware that he may die, and was bequeathing his personal possessions to his friend," the police statement said.

"This was the only letter or note found that gave any indication that family members knew what may transpire in the home."

It was this note that led investigators to conclude that Benson might have known that he was going to die, having been heavily influenced by his parents' apocalyptic beliefs, and could have agreed to the plan.

"The other two children were obviously too young, at ages eleven and twelve, to consent to any sort of agreement to commit suicide," police said of his sister, Emery Strack, and brother, Zion Strack.

This, and the fact that their parents must have provided the drugs, led police to determine that their deaths were homicide.

CNN

 

[nite-owl]

Tail of survival: Buried cat, believed dead, claws back to life.

If there are any questions about cats having nine lives, look no further than the story one man is telling the Humane Society of Tampa Bay.

He says his beloved cat, Bart, was hit by a vehicle and left for dead in the road.

Ellis Hutson said he even knows the exact spot where he buried the cat.

But somehow, he says, Bart dug its way out of the ground and wound up in his neighbor's front yard days later – alive.

The man told rescuers he was sure it was dead. He has no explanation for what happened. When they found Bart alive, they rushed it to the hospital.

Bart is at the Human Society of Tampa Bay right now, and rescuers told FOX 13 that he has severe trauma to the head, a broken jaw, a dead eye, and other injuries. Right now, doctors are scheduling surgery to save its life.

FOX 13 visited Bart on Monday. Rescuers say they believe he may have regained consciousness, dug himself out of the ground, and hid for a few days.

They say he's likely to live, but he will lose his eye.

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/...l-buried-cat-believed-dead-claws-back-to-life

It's official the cat zombie apocalypse will destroy us all.

 

[Teelie]

And here we were afraid of human zombies, it's the cat zombies with their nine undead lives we should be watching for.

 

[KevanG]

Don't Make Me Go Back, Mommy: A Child's Book about Satanic Ritual Abuse

http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Back-Mommy-Childhood/dp/0880703679

I have no words.