What weird news stories make you either laugh out loud, or just say "huh?'

[Merlin the Elder]

I had no idea that bodies could spin that fast...

[Elennare]

This seems blatantly un-Constitutional.  And terrifying!

Am I remembering correctly that in order for something like this to be overturned, it has to be challenged in court, and that can only happen if you have a case against it (i.e. are a "terror suspect" being held indefinitely under this)?  If so, it seems like we're really screwed, because how can you show up in court to challenge it when you've been "disappeared"?

[Archer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMZ7v5XI0SQ

In consideration of the Bill of Rights anniversary, a complimentary refresher.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYG_f-y8-VY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM6FWnPBU5o

A short history to set the stage for the chip, chip, chip (as of 2006) for educational purpose:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfOUAsBYsYg

for more detail  . . . and what remains of the Bill of Rights (see this next one to the end to get an idea of what remained as of 2006).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaXH9mgRNns

 all news that may call for a "huh"  ?

[Archer]

This seems blatantly un-Constitutional.  And terrifying!

Am I remembering correctly that in order for something like this to be overturned, it has to be challenged in court, and that can only happen if you have a case against it (i.e. are a "terror suspect" being held indefinitely under this)?  If so, it seems like we're really screwed, because how can you show up in court to challenge it when you've been "disappeared"?

The answer to the question regarding ideas developing to control the third branch,  is not pretty (some more "huh") :

               http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/18/gingrich-judges_n_1156405.html

           http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21CbptyoQXY

[Rowan MacD]

    No honor among thieves 

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/shoplifters-robbed-while-stealing-grocery-store-192530012.html

[Archer]

A great ink pen commercial opportunity, just ripe for the picking:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/20/woman-swallows-pen_n_1160209.html?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-sb-bb%7Cdl5%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D121782

[Rowan MacD]

  Just precious....

Man Eats Cocaine From Brother's Butt, Dies

Police: Man Trying To Hide Drug Evidence In Squad Car

POSTED: 9:13 am CST December 20, 2011

North Charleston Police Department:

A South Carolina man's brother died after police said he was forced to eat cocaine hidden in his brother's backside.

Both brothers were taken into custody on allegations they had drugs in their car.

But police told Charleston, S.C., TV station WCIV there were additional drugs hidden in 23-year-old Deangelo Mitchell's backside.

Officers said Deangelo Mitchell convinced his brother, 20-year-old Wayne Mitchell, to swallow the ounce of cocaine to hide the evidence. He died soon afterward.

"It's sickening," North Charleston Police Chief Jon Zumalt told WCIV. "I got upset when I saw the thing. I was pretty shocked on it."

Deangelo Mitchell already bonded out of jail on the drug charge, but now police are looking for him again on charges of involuntary manslaughter.

[Rowan MacD]

Whale sperm, orgasmic feet top 2011 bad science list

ReutersBy Kate Kelland | Reuters – 16 hrs ago


LONDON (Reuters) - From whale sperm to colon cleansers to the shape of a woman's foot when she has an orgasm, celebrities did not disappoint during 2011 with their penchant for peddling suspect science in the world's media.

In its annual list of what it considers the year's worst abuses against science, the Sense About Science (SAS) campaign named U.S. reality TV star Nicole Polizzi, Republican presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann and American singer-songwriter Suzi Quatro as top offenders, with their dubious views on why the sea is salty, the risks of cervical cancer vaccines and the colon.

"I used to get a lot of sore throats and then one of my sisters told me that all illnesses start in the colon. I started taking a daily colon cleanser powder mixed with fresh juice every morning and it made an enormous difference," Quatro told the Daily Mail newspaper.

But SAS was keen to dispel such myths. It asked qualified scientists from various disciplines to comment on some of the worst celebrity science offences.

"The colon is very important in some diseases, but it certainly is not the cause of all illnesses," said Melita Gordon, a consultant gastroenterologist said in the review.

"Sore throats do not come from your colon; they are caused by viruses that come in through your nose and mouth. Taking 'colon cleansers' has no beneficial effect on your throat - or on your colon."

While the review is partly about entertainment, the campaign group stresses it also has a serious aim - to make sure pseudo-science is not allowed to become accepted as true.

After Bachmann used an appearance on a U.S. television show to tell a story of a woman from Tampa, Florida, who said her daughter had become "mentally retarded" after getting an HPV vaccine designed to protect against cervical cancer, doctors said they feared the damage done may take many years to reverse.

"It's tempting to dismiss celebrity comments on science and health, but their views travel far and wide and, once uttered, a celebrity cancer prevention idea or environmental claim is hard to reverse," said SAS's managing director Tracey Brown.

"At a time when celebrities dominate the public realm, the pressure for sound science and evidence must keep pace."

The review also highlighted a bizarre quote from U.S. TV personality Polizzi, who declared recently: "I don't really like the beach. I hate sharks, and the water's all whale sperm. That's why the ocean's salty."

Simon Boxall, a marine expert and oceanographer dismissed Polizzi's suggestion. "It would take a lot of whale sperm to make the sea that salty," he said.

Some of the most intriguing pseudo-scientific suggestions came via repeated second hand information picked up at parties - never the most reliable source.

Christian Louboutin, a French footwear designer, was taken with something a fellow party guest told him about shoes.

"She said that what is sexual in a high heel is the arch of the foot, because it is exactly the position of a woman's foot when she orgasms. So putting your foot in a heel, you are putting yourself in a possibly orgasmic situation," he explained.

Kevan Wylie, a consultant in sexual medicine, responded drily that it's important to differentiate cause from effect.

"A woman's foot may be in this position during orgasm, but that does not mean that putting her foot into this position under other circumstances will result in orgasm," he said.




~Suzy Quatro a celebrity? Huh?

[Merlin the Elder]

~Suzy Quatro a celebrity? Huh?

Kinda almost used to be 40 years ago, perhaps? I had no idea she was still around. I listened to both her and her brother in the early 70s.  She also had a recurring role on Happy Days as Leather Tuscadero (`77-`79).

Edit: Maybe this should have gone on the Useless Fact thread...

[Rowan MacD]

   Yeah, I remember the song 'Stumblin' in' but figured she was dead or living in a van somewhere by now.   Per wiki- she hasn't been popular in the US since 1975.  Looks like she has a FB page too.
 

   That statement that Suzi was a celebrity just kinda made me go 'Whaaat?'   I don't think she even rates the 'B' list now days. 


The rest of the article was hilarious,  especially the quote by Nicole Polizzi: *snerk*.

[iain robb]

~Suzy Quatro a celebrity? Huh?

Kinda almost used to be 40 years ago, perhaps? I had no idea she was still around. I listened to both her and her brother in the early 70s.  She also had a recurring role on Happy Days as Leather Tuscadero (`77-`79).

It's pretty sad when your greatest claim to fame is a recurring role on Happy Days during the show's "Somebody please put this series out of its misery" period.

However, I guess that's better than where most of us are, having never been famous and now only hoping we don't end up infamous. 

[Rowan MacD]

   LOL.  Suzi could get 'infamous' if she keeps making comments like she did. 
   Lordy, I dont' think I laughed that hard since a co worker made almost the same comment (accompanied by an offer to share her copy of a colonic cleaning article in a 'health' magazine) a decade ago.   
  The practice is quackery at it's best, but still funny as...you know what.   There are still people who swear by it, but mostly for weight loss.    Same as taking laxatives as a version of purging.

[Archer]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/31/obama-defense-bill_n_1177836.html?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-sb-bb%7Cdl1%7Csec3_lnk2%26pLid%3D124161

no laugh, just say "huh" or something.....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M7Rp_Ghv6k

[DonaCatalina]

http://www.bangstyle.com/2011/12/man-left-bruised-and-battered-after-attempting-to-mug-mma-fighter/

[Rowan MacD]

   I saw that in the news.  That's guys face will take a while to heal..
   Man, shoplifters being robbed, muggers getting beat up, what's the world coming to? Tsk.