Weird News of the World Thread - Part 1

[nite-owl]

The Hurts of Childhood Series?

God that sounds depressing.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

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



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.

That was all over my Bookface feed yesterday. I live in Tampa Bay so we are all on the lookout for zombie cats now

 

[Teelie]

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.

That was at the climax of the so-called Satanic Ritual Abuse scandal that plagued the 80's and early 90's. Some of the comments are quite funny.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Taliban Captured an ISIS Leader That Bush Released From Gitmo

[YT]qGJD6FxcQLo[/YT]

The Taliban, bane of America's post-9/11 Afghanistan operations, said Wednesday that they captured Mullah Abdul Rauf Khadim, a renegade insurgent and ex-Guantanamo detainee who was in Afghanistan recruiting for the Islamic State, the latest parry in a messy internecine conflict between violent Islamist regimes.

The independent Pajhwok news agency of Afghanistan reports that Khadim—who had previously been identified in the media as an ex-Taliban footsoldier who sought revenge against the U.S. after his detention in Gitmo—was arrested, along with 45 armed followers, after attempting to turn local militants against the Taliban and win their allegiance for ISIS's attempts to build a global caliphate:

A tribal elder in Kajaki, Abdul Ahad Masoomi, also a member of the provincial reform committee, told Pajhwok Afghan News that harsh differences had recently surfaced between local militants and Mullah Abdul Rauf Khadim group.

"Mullah Khadim, who claims allegiance to Daesh (Arabic acronym for IS) forcibly assembled local residents on Thursday last in the Kakaji's Azan area and told the people that Mullah Omar no longer exists and they should now support him."

...A senior official in Helmand said Mullah Rauf had been one of Mullah Omar's close aides. He was detained during Taliban's last year in power in northern Afghanistan and was handed over to the US.

Rauf's work was the latest in an ambitious expansion program that ISIS has reportedly pursued ever since consolidating its power in a large area of Syria and Iraq. Many former Al Qaeda militants have pledged fealty to the new jihadis on the block, and reports even suggest ISIS has approached Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's successor as the nominal Al Qaeda leader, to renounce the Taliban in Afghanistan and back ISIS as the future of Islamic governance.

But Rauf, 33, is an especially interesting character. He spent seven years in Guantanamo Bay as Prisoner No. 108 and was released by the U.S. into Afghan custody in 2007. According to documents released by Wikileaks, Rauf was designated a "medium" risk and slated for transfer out of Guantanamo as early as 2004. Analysts said Rauf had admitted to involvement with the Taliban's illicit opium trade and identified him as one of "two cell block leaders attempting to instigate and influence the rest of the cell blocks to disregard orders, make noise, refuse food, and commit suicide."

One analyst added in Rauf's record: "For a simple Taliban foot soldier and bread deliverer, detainee manages to exhibit leadership qualities by conducting speeches and instilling fear into those who cooperate with [U.S.] personnel."

A later Newsweek report, however, suggests that Rauf had been more than a footsoldier: He was identified as the head of "Mullah Omar's elite mobile reserve force, fighting regime opponents all over Afghanistan." About a year after the U.S. repatriated him to Afghanistan, Rauf escaped from house arrest and emerged to terrorize Afghans who had cooperated with the U.S.-led coalition. "He will be very important in the future," a Taliban commander said of him in 2011.

On Wednesday, a Taliban commander told Pajhwok that the fate of Rauf and his army "would be decided by Taliban religious leaders and judges." Then again, the Taliban likely can't be trusted to give a fair assessment of ISIS's strength in Afghanistan. Two weeks ago, they were claiming Rauf was their friend.

"We know Mullah Abdul Rauf Khadim," one Talib leader told the New York Times in mid-January. "He was a member of the Taliban, but now he is sitting at home."

http://www.newsweek.com/twelve-afpaks-most-wanted-insurgents-guide-66549

The enemy of my enemy I guess

 

[KevanG]

Okay, that was unexpected. I don't think that anyone thought they'd be cheering for the Taliban.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

How The Amount of Meat We Eat Changed In The Last 40 Years, Charted​

As a planet, we're producing and eating more meat than we used to. But just what does that look like in terms of our plates 40 years ago versus today? This chart shows us exactly.

The chart, via the FAO's statistics office, shows how much meat is in the world supply per capita, today versus the last four decades.

The most stunning change, of course, is the sheer amount of meats that we're eating per capita, which have risen well over 150% by weight.

But just as intriguing are the kinds of meats that are growing — and the ones that are falling. Aquaculture, while barely visible at the end of the '60s, quickly grows so that today it rivals beef for position. Poultry also went from a supplemental meat to one of the stars of the table, an ascent that can be attributed primarily to chicken. Beef, however, has been remarkably consistent throughout the years, as have mutton and goat.

https://***********/FAOstatistics/status/559744499476598786/photo/1

Crazy how much it has changed in such a relatively short time

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Game Sued For Featuring An American Hero, Dead For 69 Years

General George S. Patton was one of America's great heroes of the Second World War. He died in December, 1945. You'd think both of those things combined would make it OK for him to star in a video game, but nope.

An upcoming strategy game, called Legends of War: Patton, has been sued by a firm representing estate of the deceased General, a company that as Gamasutra reports also polices the use of other historical figures such as James Dean, Marilyn Monroe; Marlon Brando, Chuck Berry and Amelia Earhart.

You'd think that long-dead figures from popular history would be fair game, but it turns out there are limits that vary from state-to-state. Maximum Games, who are releasing (or trying to release) LoW: Patton, are based in California, where the law says such figures are fair game if they've been dead for 70 years.

Patton has been dead for 69 years.

Maybe the easiest thing for Maximum to do would be to delay the game until the 70 years are up. Which would make it one of the weirdest game delays on record.

http://gamasutra.com/blogs/DanRoger...ts_of_Departed_Celebrities_in_Video_Games.php

They def need to just wait the year out

 

[KevanG]

At least they have a good reason for the delays, unlike many companies. They should include a special thank you for the estate in the credits.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Suitcase Stuffed With Dismembered Body Found in San Francisco

Yesterday afternoon, San Francisco police discovered a suitcase containing dismembered human remains. Not long after, more body parts were found scattered nearby.

Police received a call just after 4 p.m. local time about a suspicious package in the South of Market area. Amid piles of trash, responding officers found a roller-type suitcase inside of which were the "dismembered body parts of a human being," police spokeswoman Officer Grace Gatpandan told the San Francisco Chronicle. KGO reports the bag contained a human torso. A search of the area turned up more body parts.

According to Gatpandan, the race and sex of the victim isn't yet known. "Investigators are still searching to determine if there are any other body parts in the area," she told the Chronicle. "This was an extremely gruesome crime scene."

Gatpandan also said homicide detectives have identified a suspect. "We do have people of interest that homicide investigators are speaking to, as well as using surveillance cameras," she said, according to KGO.

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Body-parts-in-suitcase-found-by-S-F-police-in-6047152.php

That's crazy

 

[Teelie]

I was just reading about that. Something out of a movie.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Wannabe Dexter out there

 

[KevanG]

The race and gender of the victim isn't known? What? Is it that dissected? Jeez.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

7 Killed, 60 Injured in Gas Explosion at Mexico City Maternity Hospital

At least seven people were killed and 60 more were injured, including four infants, after a gas truck exploded Thursday morning near a maternity hospital in Mexico City, according to Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/29/world/mexico-explosion/index.html

Horrible tragedy

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

CUNY Graduate Center Drops 'Mr.' And 'Ms.' From Official Communications

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/28/cuny-mr-ms_n_6559250.html

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Bobbi Kristina, Daughter of Whitney Houston, Found Unconscious in Tub

Bobbi Kristina Brown—the 21-year-old daughter of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown—was rushed to the hospital on Saturday after she was discovered "unresponsive" in a bathtub, CBS reports.

According to TMZ, Brown's breathing has now been stabilized.

After calling 911, husband Nick Gordon and a friend reportedly performed CPR on Brown until emergency personnel arrived at the Roswell, GA home where she was found.

Three years ago, Brown's mother died under strangely similar circumstances, accidentally drowning in a bath tub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

http://www.tmz.com/2015/01/31/bobbi-kristina-brown-found-unconscious-bathtub-whitney-houston/

The apple really doesn't fall from from the tree I guess

 

[Teelie]

I just read about that and was thinking whether this was intentional or just tragically coincedental.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Guy Who Played the Red Power Ranger Murdered His Roommate Today

Cops say a man known best for portraying the red Power Ranger murdered his roommate during a fight at their Los Angeles apartment Sunday.

Ricardo Medina, Jr., who played the red Ranger in several of the franchise films and television shows, was reportedly arguing with his roommate with his roommate at their apartment in Green Valley on Sunday afternoon when things turned physical.

According to the LAPD, which confirmed the strange story in a press release, Medina "retreated to his bedroom with his girlfriend," but the victim, Joshua Sutter, "followed them and forced the door open."

Then Medina allegedly stabbed Sutter once in the stomach "with a sword kept next to the bedroom door."

Sutter was transported to a hospital and pronounced dead.

Medina was reportedly booked on murder charges and has not posted his $1 million bail.

https://local.nixle.com/alert/5347588/?sub_id=1000000473

If Zordon were around he would have never let this happen

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Three-Year-Old Shoots Dad, Pregnant Mom with Handgun in NM Motel Room

A toddler accidentally shot his father and his eight-months-pregnant mother in an Albuquerque motel room on Saturday, the Albuquerque Journal reports. According to the paper, both parents are expected to survive.

The three-year-old boy was reportedly reaching for an iPod in his mother's purse when he instead grabbed her loaded handgun, firing one shot. From NBC News:

The bullet hit the father in the buttock, exited the man's hip and then struck the toddler's mother in the shoulder, according to police. The mother, who is eight months pregnant, is hospitalized in stable condition and the father has been treated and released, police added.

"It was like if I was to get up shake your hand and sat back down. That's how fast it happened," father Justin Reynolds told KOB. "All of a sudden we heard a gun go off and the next minute I realized my girlfriend was bleeding. Then I sat down and realized I was shot too."

Also in the room was the couple's two-year-old daughter, who was unharmed. According to police, the couple could face charges of felony criminal negligence. Both children are currently in state custody on a 48-hour hold.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...d-pregnant-mom-albuquerque-motel-room-n297841

If you don't know how to put the freaking safety on your damn gun you deserve to have your children taken away

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

UPDATE: Bobbi Kristina Brown in Medically Induced Coma

According to "a source close to the family," Bobbi Kristina Brown, the only child of the late Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, was placed in a medically induced coma on Saturday after being found unresponsive in a bathtub, CNN reports.

Chillingly, CNN's source said that Brown, 21, was discovered facedown in the water, just as her mother was when she accidentally drowned in a bathtub almost three years ago.

Saturday afternoon, police released additional details about the incident, confirming that Brown was found in her own home and that, so far, investigators have found nothing indicating that drugs or alcohol played a role.

The similarities between yesterday's emergency and Houston's death were striking even to a police spokesperson, who said, "Her mother died in the very same manner."

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/31/entertainment/whitney-houston-daughter-unresponsive/

Hopefully she pulls through

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

For Patients with Parkinson's Disease, Expensive Placebo Works Better

In a recent study, an "expensive" salt solution was shown to to be significantly more effective at managing the symptoms of patients with Parkinson's disease than an "inexpensive" one. The salt solutions were identical placebos.

Scientific American's Karen Hopkins summarizes the study's design and findings:

To examine whether the perceived cost could be a factor, researchers told 12 people with Parkinson's that they would be receiving two formulations of a new medication. The patients believed that one version of the drug cost $100 a dose, while the other one cost 15 times as much.

The results? Participants who started with the supposedly high-priced drug showed 28 percent greater improvement in motor skills than those who got the cheaper placebo first.

The researchers – lead by Alberto J. Espay, an associate professor of neurology at the University of Cincinnati – reported their findings in this week's issue of the journal Neurology. "Expensive placebo significantly improved motor function and decreased brain activation in a direction and magnitude comparable to, albeit less than, levodopa" the researchers write.

At The New York Times, Nicholas Bakalar adds that "the effect of the expensive placebo was not significantly different from that of levodopa, the most effective medication for Parkinson's disease." This observation says as much about the potency of the placebo affect as it does about the neurological mechanisms of Parkinson's disease, and, to a lesser extent, the inadequacies of levodopa. It's worth unpacking.

Levodopa, or L-DOPA, is the precursor to the neurotransmitter dopamine. Because Parkinson's disease is largely attributable to the insufficient formation of dopamine in the brain, L-DOPA has, for several decades, been the go-to drug for the treatment and management of Parkinson's symptoms. Neurologists call this a "dopamine replacement strategy."

It follows that the strength of the placebo effect in this particular instance could be due to the neural mechanisms of Parkinson's disease, itself. "One of the reasons why the effect is so large is that it's mediated by dopamine," Espay told The Times. "We make more dopamine when we have heightened expectations of efficacy."

Now, L-DOPA treatment is usually effective in the early stages of the disease, but can lead to complications over time. It's also wholly ineffective in modifying the course of the disease. In other words: L-DOPA may be one of the best treatments for Parkinson's Disease, but it leaves a lot to be desired, especially in the long term.

That said, the surprising role of heightened expectations of efficacy in the study should not be ignored. The placebo effect (and its biomedical foil, the nocebo effect) remains one of medicine's greatest enigmas, and seems to have become more mysterious – not to mention increasingly relevant – since the turn of the millennium. Steve Silberman writes extensively on the pharmaceutical industry's "placebo problem" in a 2009 issue of Wired:

The upshot is fewer new medicines available to ailing patients and more financial woes for the beleaguered pharmaceutical industry. Last November, a new type of gene therapy for Parkinson's disease, championed by the Michael J. Fox Foundation, was abruptly withdrawn from Phase II trials after unexpectedly tanking against placebo. A stem-cell startup called Osiris Therapeutics got a drubbing on Wall Street in March, when it suspended trials of its pill for Crohn's disease, an intestinal ailment, citing an "unusually high" response to placebo. Two days later, Eli Lilly broke off testing of a much-touted new drug for schizophrenia when volunteers showed double the expected level of placebo response.

It's not only trials of new drugs that are crossing the futility boundary. Some products that have been on the market for decades, like Prozac, are faltering in more recent follow-up tests. In many cases, these are the compounds that, in the late '90s, made Big Pharma more profitable than Big Oil. But if these same drugs were vetted now, the FDA might not approve some of them. Two comprehensive analyses of antidepressant trials have uncovered a dramatic increase in placebo response since the 1980s. One estimated that the so-called effect size (a measure of statistical significance) in placebo groups had nearly doubled over that time.

It's not that the old meds are getting weaker, drug developers say. It's as if the placebo effect is somehow getting stronger.

The fact that an increasing number of medications are unable to beat sugar pills has thrown the industry into crisis. The stakes could hardly be higher. In today's economy, the fate of a long-established company can hang on the outcome of a handful of tests.

Why are inert pills suddenly overwhelming promising new drugs and established medicines alike? The reasons are only just beginning to be understood. A network of independent researchers is doggedly uncovering the inner workings—and potential therapeutic applications—of the placebo effect. At the same time, drugmakers are realizing they need to fully understand the mechanisms behind it so they can design trials that differentiate more clearly between the beneficial effects of their products and the body's innate ability to heal itself. A special task force of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health is seeking to stem the crisis by quietly undertaking one of the most ambitious data-sharing efforts in the history of the drug industry. After decades in the jungles of fringe science, the placebo effect has become the elephant in the boardroom.

http://www.neurology.org/content/early/2015/01/28/WNL.0000000000001282

The mind is a powerful thing

 

[KevanG]

Guy Who Played the Red Power Ranger Murdered His Roommate Today

https://local.nixle.com/alert/5347588/?sub_id=1000000473

If Zordon were around he would have never let this happen

Well then. Another childhood hero gone.

Three-Year-Old Shoots Dad, Pregnant Mom with Handgun in NM Motel Room

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...d-pregnant-mom-albuquerque-motel-room-n297841

If you don't know how to put the freaking safety on your damn gun you deserve to have your children taken away

You deserve not to have guns but good ol' 'we have rights to bear arms' 'Murica demands that they have guns always and forever. Anyone who takes a basic safety course in guns always stresses gun safety, verifying ammo is safely placed and all weapons are away from children. I still feel that anyone buying a gun needs a mandatory course. You don't pass, you don't get ****. You pull something like this, you lose guns forever.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

I also agree that gun safety course should be mandatory but I think smart guns are the way of the future. DNA should be used to verify who can fire the weapon and all sales need to go through a licensed dealer so the weapons can be tracked properly

 

[Mike_D202]

Guy Who Played the Red Power Ranger Murdered His Roommate Today

https://local.nixle.com/alert/5347588/?sub_id=1000000473

If Zordon were around he would have never let this happen

First: It's the ranger from the "Samurai" series, not the classic.

Second: the guy forced his way into his bedroom and he defended himself, this is clearly a self-defense trial.

Third: He called the cops himself after the incident. This is still under investigation.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

I had no idea the power rangers meant so much to you Mike

 

[Mike_D202]

I had no idea the power rangers meant so much to you Mike

Just the original series from when I was a kid, it's nostalgic. I could care less about the rest of them, I'm pointing out the facts instead of another media storm headline.