Archive for March, 2011
Horror Filmmaker Keeps Dead Mother’s Body
The house from Alfred Hitchock's "Psycho". Photo: Poco a poco (CC)
This story seems like it came directly from Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. It’s an interesting portrayal of life imitating art. Arizona Daily Star reports:
A Tombstone man was arrested Wednesday after authorities found the decomposed body of a woman believed to be his mother inside her home.
The Tombstone Marshal’s Office received a call Wednesday to do a welfare check on Jill Fattig, 68, at her home in Tombstone, said Marshal Billy Cloud.
A deputy went to the home but, when no one answered the door, he went to question the woman’s son, Timothy Fattig.
Fattig, 34, told the deputy that his mother was at a hospital in Tucson. When the deputy found this was not the case, he went back to Fattig, who eventually told him his mother had died about a year go.
After obtaining a search warrant, deputies found the skeletal remains of a woman…
Charity Group Pays Drug Addicts To Use Birth Control
Instead of paying their way into rehab, Projective Prevention decided that spending money on birth control was a better choice. BBC reports:
A US charity says it has paid 26 female drug addicts in Britain to have contraceptive implants or coils fitted.
Project Prevention told BBC Radio 5 live it had given the women initial payments of £60 and a UK charity now wanted to trial a similar scheme.
The charity had controversially offered to pay addicts £200 to be sterilised when it launched in the UK in October.
But it has now said no women took up that offer because the British Medical Association did not back the proposal.
Instead, the charity said, it is focusing on paying addicts to use birth control.
[Continues at BBC]
The American Left Is Letting The U.S. Government Abuse Bradley Manning
Is it because Obama is a “liberal” black Democrat? Dylan Ratigan talks to former Democratic “naughty Santa” Krystal Ball and ubiquitous “registered independent” bullshitter Amy Holmes about the hypocrisy of the American left regarding the Obama administration’s treatment of Bradley Manning:
The Bank of America Data Leak Starts, Thanks To Anonymous
In November 2010 Julian Assange created much consternation among banking circles by revealing that WikiLeaks had material that could take down a major bank, which was later revealed to be Bank of America. However, despite or maybe because of Assange’s arrest in Britain, the leak was not forthcoming … until now, it seems.
The group Anonymous has announced an initial BofA release on its Twitter feed and the link to a .rar compressed file is here. The group’s website BankOfAmericaSuck.com appears to be down as of this posting, probably because it’s overwhelmed (or perhaps BofA has attacked it?).
The disinformation team hasn’t had a chance to analyze the leaked material from BofA yet – anyone who has please post your thoughts in the comments.
A Lesson In Social Media Ignorance: Earthquake In Japan 2011
A friend recently shared a link to an image featuring a collection of facebook statuses regarding the recent events in Japan. All of which are blatantly ignorant and insensitive, to such a degree that it most likely will qualify as black humor for some. I am not sure the history of the image, however I’d assume they were gathered using something like YourOpenBook.org (A search on the site reveals many similar postings).
The Muslim ‘Radicalization’ Myth Debunked
Justin Elliot at Salon.com talks with the author of a report from the Brennan Center for Justice on the difference between Peter King’s hysterical homeland security hearings and actual work to combat terrorism:
When Rep. Peter King’s controversial hearing on Muslim “radicalization” finally convened on Thursday, members of Congress had the opportunity to take some good shots at each other, and the relatives of two Americans who became extremists gave emotional testimony about their experiences.
What the hearing did not feature was any serious, evidence-based consideration of the actual issue of so-called homegrown terrorism by Muslim Americans.
King and other Republicans spent a lot of time going after the Muslim group CAIR and defending themselves from Democratic complaints that the hearing was bigoted. As TPM put it: “Peter King Hearing Focuses On Whether Peter King Hearing Was a Good Idea.”
As it turns out, there is rigorous academic work being done on the “radicalization” issue. The Brennan…
A Proposal For An All New Ten Commandments
HFS, yeah the old ones lost their magick so I thought I’d give you all some new ones, charged with the force and power of the Aeon of Horus … ISN 666
#1 “If you cannot respect the rights of others than you yourself shall be denied your rights.”
#2 “Shun all forms of social status and classes, these are mere illusions that attempt to justify ignoring the needs of society.”
#3 “If you make children, you are responsible for their health, education and happiness. If you take a person into your household or join a person in their household that has children of their own you are to accept full responsibility of their care as if they were your own.”
#4 “When you view someone as a burden to society, know this line of thinking is a much worse burden and more detrimental to society than poverty.”
#5 “When your religion, belief, ideology or…
I’m Voting for the Dead Guy
Image courtesty of TeeFury
Stacie Adams writes on the Nervous Breakdown:
Let me tell you a little story. Perhaps it won’t be very compelling or important, and perhaps the opinion of one slightly unhinged free lance writer means nothing, but the truth is I never voted in my life until 2008.
Everyone at the polling place knew who I was voting for, due to my age and demeanor. There were a shit ton of us, all there to put a vote in for Barack Obama, which really rubbed the old folks raw.
These were the people who voted every election cycle without fail, and now had to contend with a wave of urban hipsters and other artsy types.
A man walked in behind us and barked ‘Bliss, Republican!’ at the little old ladies working the polls, all of whom puffed up their chests and yelled back that he needn’t be such an ass about it.
Come…
Charlie Sheen’s ‘Winning Recipes’ (Video)
Via Funny or Die:
On Charlie Sheen’s new cooking show Winning Recipes, Charlie shows you how to cook using all of the power of a warlock.
Cult of Personality: The Glamor of the Downward Spiral
Last week, I noticed an uptick in people listening to Alice In Chains and it occurred right along with my own renewed interest in the band, and Charlie Sheen’s supposed meltdown. I saw a common theme between these and talked about it in the Cult of Personality and the price that must be paid. The American public loves to see the Nobody “make it big,” but we love it even more when we get to watch them implode in front of our very eyes. Not long after, I see this:
“Mike Starr, the former bassist of Alice In Chains, was found dead in his Salt Lake City home Wednesday. Starr was 44 years old. With a history of substance abuse, Starr was featured on the third season of Celebrity Rehab.
Mike Starr, who is best known for his work with Alice In Chains on the album Dirt, tried to use his former rock…
The Ron Paul 2012 Interview
Ron Paul sits down with Simon Constable of the Wall Street Journal for a lengthy interview, including a discussion about his plans for a 2012 presidential run:
Will March 19 ‘Supermoon’ Trigger Natural Disasters?
Natalie Wolchover asks some disturbing questions at Space.com:
On March 19, the moon will swing around Earth more closely than it has in the past 18 years, lighting up the night sky from just 221,567 miles (356,577 kilometers) away. On top of that, it will be full. And one astrologer believes it could inflict massive damage on the planet.
Richard Nolle, a noted astrologer who runs the website astropro.com, has famously termed the upcoming full moon at lunar perigee (the closest approach during its orbit) an “extreme supermoon.”
When the moon goes super-extreme, Nolle says, chaos will ensue: Huge storms, earthquakes, volcanoes and other natural disasters can be expected to wreak havoc on Earth. (It should be noted that astrology is not a real science, but merely makes connections between astronomical and mystical events.)
But do we really need to start stocking survival shelters in preparation for the supermoon?
The question is not actually so…
Japan Nuclear Plant Explodes
This is about the worst headline one could ever imagine writing. The story is developing fast and is on every major news channel. Here’s a quick update from CNN:
Army Recruits Prisoners To Make Body Armor
Spc. Guy Mellor tries on his helmet for the perfect fit.
Another deal for Unicor. Via Wired News:
Building parts for Patriot missile systems was just a warm-up, apparently, for a government-owned company that relies on federal inmates making as little as 23 cents an hour. On Wednesday, the U.S. Army announced that it handed Federal Prison Industries a no-bid, nearly $20 million contract to build body armor.
It’s the latest in a decades-long string of military deals for FPI, also known as Unicor.
Over the years, the company has supplied parts for F-15 and F-16 fighter jets, the Cobra attack helicopter, and the iconic Patriot interceptor system. (More about that in a second.)
But this deal is particularly odd, because FPI’s track record with protective equipment is, to put it generously, uneven. In May of last year, the Army recalled 44,000 FPI-made protective helmets after they failed ballistic testing. FPI then promptly got out of the helmet…
Evangelical Mortal Kombat
A video of one cultural phenomenon interpreted through the lens of another.
82% Of Public Schools Expected To ‘Fail’ This Year
US Education Secretary Arne Duncan
Is it that the schools will ‘fail’ the “No Child Left Behind” program or the program itself is a ‘fail’ for schools? The Raw Story reports:
In testimony to Congress Wednesday, US Education Secretary Arne Duncan made a startling claim: This year, up to 82 percent of public schools could “fail” the government’s “No Child Left Behind” standards.
“No Child Left Behind is broken and we need to fix it now,” he said, according to a transcript provided by the Department of Education.
“This law has created dozens of ways for schools to fail and very few ways to help them succeed,” Duncan added. “We should get out of the business of labeling schools as failures and create a new law that is fair and flexible, and focused on the schools and students most at risk.”
Last year, just 32 percent of schools were failing the government’s rigorous testing standards. Duncan…
Professor Faces Trial For Distributing Jury Nullification Pamphlets
New York has arrested and brought charges against an eccentric retired chemistry professor who frequently stands outside of federal court and informs passersby about ‘jury nullification’, a controversial practice in which jurors disregard laws they disagree with. Is Julian P. Heicklen a hooligan or hero? Either way, he’s extremely cranky, the New York Times found:
Since 2009, Mr. Heicklen has stood there and at courthouse entrances elsewhere and handed out pamphlets encouraging jurors to ignore the law if they disagree with it, and to render verdicts based on conscience.
That concept, called jury nullification, is highly controversial, and courts are hostile to it. But federal prosecutors have now taken the unusual step of having Mr. Heicklen indicted on a charge that his distributing of such pamphlets at the courthouse entrance violates a law against jury tampering.
Mr. Heicklen was arraigned on Friday in a somewhat contentious hearing before Judge Kimba M. Wood, who entered…
Phil Plait: No, The “Super-Moon” Didn’t Cause the Japanese Earthquake
Moon's Apogee and Perigee.
The ever lucid Phil Plait writes on Bad Astronomy:
Japan suffered a massive earthquake last night, measuring nearly magnitude 9. This is one of the largest quakes in its history, causing widespread and severe damage. Before I say anything else, I’m greatly saddened by the loss of life in Japan, and I’ll be donating to disaster relief organizations to help them get in there and do what they can to give aid to those in need.
While there isn’t much I can do to directly help the situation in Japan, I do hope I can help mitigate the panic and worry that can happen due to people blaming this earthquake on the so-called “supermoon” — a date when the Moon is especially close to the Earth at the same time it’s full. So let me be extremely clear:
Despite what a lot of people are saying, there is no way…
AT&T Commercial Spoofs TSA Suspicion
Although not many of us are laughing over TSA procedures, I do give the creators credit for effectively utilizing the issue as an opportunity to sell a product.
