Archive for May, 2009
First Ever Twittering Of A Lethal Injection
The online newspaper Missourinet made history a week ago when it did a live play-by-play twittering of the execution of convicted murderer Dennis Skillicorn. Skillicorn killed several people during a 1994 crime spree and, while in jail, ended up marrying a Kansas City Star reporter covering the case. Is this the start of a “death tweet” trend? To me, slightly creepy.
Around 100 ‘Blood-Drinking’ Satan-Worshippers Arrested In Iran
Iran has arrested more than 100 “Satan-worshippers” in a raid on a concert in the southern city of Shiraz where people were drinking alcohol and “sucking blood”, a newspaper reports.
“The session was held in a garden outside Shiraz and the Satanist ceremony was broadcast live to the world via the internet,” he said, adding the arrests were made by members of the Islamist Basij militia linked to the Guards.”These people drank alcohol, hurt themselves and sucked blood,” Hamidi said. “They even bow to Satan in some ceremonies.”
Incredible Fan-Made ‘Green Lantern’ Trailer Makes Great Argument for Remix Culture
A fan-made Green Lantern movie trailer made with shots adapted from the following movies, TV shows, and trailers: Planet of the Apes, Serenity, Fantastic 4, The Lord of the Rings and more (full list here). Not sure how long it will be on YouTube: this makes a great argument for remix culture. I don’t think anyone would be able to identify all the source clips unless the creator pointed them out.
Hookworm Therapy As Treatment for Crohn’s Disease
CBS5 TV: Eating worms. It’s the stuff of legends.
In the classic movie How to Eat Fried Worms, Billy accepts a dare to eat ten worms in the course of one day. And each worm is prepared in such a disgusting manner, that kids watching each successive munch should be totally grossed out.
However, in real life, an experimental therapy involving helminthes or hookworms is not grossing out very sick patients and their families. They’re not trying these creatures as a dare, but as an attempt to improve their health in the face of life-threatening diseases.
Musician Scott Richards and artist Debora Wade are two Bay Area patients on the hookworm treatment. Richards and Wade both suffer from an inflammatory bowel disease called Crohn’s. When faced with using a parasite as therapy, both patients felt they had nothing to lose.
For starters, Crohn’s is an excruciatingly painful immune system disorder that causes the intestines to…
Fear and Loathing: The Board Game
A board game loosely based on the Hunter S. Thompson classic Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas from designer Jonathan Baldwin:
General David Petraeus on Closing Gitmo: The ‘New Great Game’ in Asia
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:
RFE/RL: In your view, does the closing of “Gitmo” and the abandonment of those techniques complicate the U.S. mission in Iraq, Afghanistan, and in the overall struggle against violent transnational extremist groups or does it help it?
Petraeus: Doing that, [closing the prison at Guantanamo,] in a responsible manner, I think, sends an important message to the world, as does the commitment of the United States to observe the Geneva Convention when it comes to the treatment of detainees.
RFE/RL: The Central Asian states all agree that the region’s biggest security problems right now emanate from Afghanistan. Given that, why, in your opinion, has it been so difficult for some of them to commit more firmly to helping the U.S. and NATO efforts?
Petraeus: What might be most beneficial for all of the countries — including my own and Russia and the other great powers of the world — would…
General David Petraeus on Closing Gitmo, The “New Great Game” in Asia
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:
RFE/RL:In your view, does the closing of “Gitmo” and the abandonment of those techniques complicate the U.S. mission in Iraq, Afghanistan, and in the overall struggle against violent transnational extremist groups or does it help it?
Petraeus: Doing that, [closing the prison at Guantanamo,] in a responsible manner, I think, sends an important message to the world, as does the commitment of the United States to observe the Geneva Convention when it comes to the treatment of detainees.
RFE/RL: The Central Asian states all agree that the region’s biggest security problems right now emanate from Afghanistan. Given that, why, in your opinion, has it been so difficult for some of them to commit more firmly to helping the U.S. and NATO efforts?
Petraeus: What might be most beneficial for all of the countries — including my own and Russia and the other great powers of the world — would…
Cheney’s Torture Policy Actually Cost Thousands of Lives
Brave New Films: Dick Cheney says that torturing detainees has saved American lives. That claim is patently false. Cheney’s torture policy was directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds if not thousands of American servicemen and women.
Matthew Alexander was the senior military interrogator for the task force that tracked down Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq and, at the time, a higher priority target than Osama bin Laden. Mr. Alexander has personally conducted hundreds of interrogations and supervised over a thousand of them.
“Torture does not save lives. Torture costs us lives,” Mr. Alexander said in an exclusive interview at Brave New Studios. “And the reason why is that our enemies use it, number one, as a recruiting tool…These same foreign fighters who came to Iraq to fight because of torture and abuse….literally cost us hundreds if not thousands of American lives.”
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Gen. Petraeus: Closing Gitmo Sends “Important Message to The World”
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:
RFE/RL:In your view, does the closing of “Gitmo” and the abandonment of those techniques complicate the U.S. mission in Iraq, Afghanistan, and in the overall struggle against violent transnational extremist groups or does it help it?
Petraeus: Doing that, [closing the prison at Guantanamo,] in a responsible manner, I think, sends an important message to the world, as does the commitment of the United States to observe the Geneva Convention when it comes to the treatment of detainees.
RFE/RL: The Central Asian states all agree that the region’s biggest security problems right now emanate from Afghanistan. Given that, why, in your opinion, has it been so difficult for some of them to commit more firmly to helping the U.S. and NATO efforts?
Petraeus: What might be most beneficial for all of the countries — including my own and Russia and the other great powers of the world — indeed…
Army Chief Says U.S. Ready To Be in Iraq 10 Years
WASHINGTON – The Pentagon is prepared to leave fighting forces in Iraq for as long as a decade despite an agreement between the United States and Iraq that would bring all American troops home by 2012, the top U.S. Army officer said Tuesday.
Gen. George Casey, the Army chief of staff, said the world remains dangerous and unpredictable, and the Pentagon must plan for extended U.S. combat and stability operations in two wars. “Global trends are pushing in the wrong direction,” Casey said. “They fundamentally will change how the Army works.”
Seven-Legged Cow Born In Colorado
Local news in the town of Steamboat Springs, Colorado is reporting that a Black Angus calf with seven legs was born there this past week. Sadly, the baby cow lived for only ten minutes; it possessed two spines but just one head. Veterinary hospital receptionist Pam Lynn described it as “the weirdest thing we’ve seen, ever ever.” So sad!
New York City Starbucks Bombed
The New York Times reports:
A predawn blast from an explosive device damaged a sidewalk bench and shattered windows at a Starbucks coffee shop on the Upper East Side on Monday, the police said. No one was injured.
The authorities said that investigators were trying to determine whether [the] blast was linked to three others that occurred at similar times of day around Manhattan. The previous attacks were on the Times Square military recruiting station in 2008; on the Mexican Consulate in 2007; and on an office building housing the British Consulate in 2005.
One investigator said that other witnesses had [reported] two white youngsters, about 14 and 16 years old, running away from the scene. He added that the device apparently contained gunpowder, was ignited with a lighted fuse and may have been contained in an energy drink bottle.
Culture of Bling Clangs to Earth as the Recession Melts Rappers’ Ice
After years of starring in rap-music lyrics and videos, “bling” is losing its ring.
The recession is cramping the style of hip-hop artists and wannabes — many of whom are finding it difficult to afford the diamond-encrusted pendants and heavy gold chains they have long used to project an aura of outsized wealth.
In an attempt to keep up appearances, celebrity jewelers say rappers are asking them to make medallions with less-precious stones and metals. Some even whisper that the artists have begun requesting cubic zirconia, the synthetic diamond stand-in and QVC staple.
Hip-hop luminaries with the cash to keep it real are appalled. Bling aficionados fret that the art of “ice” is being watered down.
The Real George Washington
Washington was … is bad ass! Present beware, future beware, he’s coming!
Iran Arrests 104 ‘Devil Worshippers’
TEHRAN (Reuters) — Iranian security forces have arrested 104 “devil worshippers” and seized drugs and alcohol during a party in a southern city, a semi-official news agency reported Monday. “Cutting (their own) skin and sucking up the blood was among the indecent behavior of the group,” Mehr News Agency quoted Colonel Abbas Hamedi of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in the city of Shiraz as saying.
He said a Guards intelligence unit launched an investigation into the all-male group about one year ago, leading to their arrest Sunday evening. “The group’s aim was to promote irreligious behavior,” Hamedi, adding they had posted footage of their parties on the Internet.
The Islamic Republic, which bans alcohol and narcotics, last year said it would launch a crackdown on “indecent Western-inspired movements” such as rappers and satanists. That move signaled a widening of a clampdown on “immoral” conduct launched in 2007 against women flouting rules dictating that they…
Mission Accomplished Turns Six
As May draws to a close, we can look back on this month as the 6th anniversary of Bush Jr.’s declaration of “Mission Accomplished” in Iraq. Editor and Publisher marks the occasion by examining how our best-known pundits covered the event way back in May ‘03.
Chris Matthews on MSNBC called Bush a “hero” and boomed, “He won the war. He was an effective commander. Everybody recognizes that, I believe, except a few critics.” He added: “Women like a guy who’s president. Check it out. The women like this war.”
PBS’ Gwen Ifill said Bush was “part Tom Cruise, part Ronald Reagan.”
Bob Schieffer on CBS said: “As far as I’m concerned, that was one of the great pictures of all time.”
Poor People Are The Most Charitable
One might assume that becoming rich engenders philanthropy, but this doesn’t seem to be true. In fact, the opposite is the case: the U.S. income bracket in which people donate the most to charity out of their wages is the poorest bracket.
Based on 2007 figures, Americans earning less than $19,301 a year give 4.3 percent of their pay to charitable causes. On the other hand, those in the top bracket, making more than $158,888, gave at less than half of that rate, donating just 2.1 percent of their earnings to charity. Even more ridiculous considering that there’s tax breaks for charitable giving.
Pirate Bay Money Squeeze Rejected by Court
The request from four major record labels to fine the Pirate Bay operators for every day the site remains up and running was declined by the Swedish District Court today. Contrary to what the labels had requested, the court said it wants to hear the defendants before it will take any action.
In an attempt to prevent The Pirate Bay from linking to copyright infringing material, Universal, EMI, Sony and Warner have asked the court to issue penalties to the site’s operators for every day they continue to keep the tracker and website online.
In the request to the District Court, music industry lawyer Peter Danowsky had pointed out that The Pirate Bay links to hundreds of music albums to which the record labels own the rights. The labels consequently demanded action, and wanted the Pirate Bay team to remove the torrents, close the site or pay up. The labels further asked…
Red Bull Cola’s Secret Ingredient: Cocaine!
Germany is considering a nationwide ban on the high-energy drink Red Bull Cola after traces of cocaine were found in it.
Authorities in the states of Hesse and North-Rhine Westphalia have ordered retailers to stop selling the beverage – which is available in the UK.
The consumer ministries in the two states confirmed they had ordered retailers to pull the drink off their shelves after a food safety institute in North-Rhine Westphalia found the drug in samples.
‘The institute examined Red Bull Cola in an elaborate chemical process and found traces of cocaine,’ said Bernhard Kuehnle, head of the food safety department at the federal ministry for consumer protection.
Authorities said the cocaine levels do not pose a health threat but are not permitted in foodstuffs.
