On News

Family-centric News Roundup

Today’s News Roundup theme is Families, with a focus on children, but a small detour into staying together.

  • Woman Births Two Sets of Identical Twins in a Day – FEB 19, 2013 12:45 PM ET // BY RICHARD FARRELL
    I brought this one up for the sheer statistical anomaly of a woman fertilizing two gets (creating fraternal twins) that each then went on to split into sets of identical twins.
  • Shopping Center Bans Screaming Children – FEB 20, 2013 09:52 AM ET // BY TRACY STAEDTER
    The part of this that catches my mind is that when Sydney Dee Why Grand shopping complex banned screaming children in the food court, it actually brought up supports of why people’s screaming kids should be tolerated. And I’ll excuse an infant, but when kids are “running amok in the food court” (the complaint that triggered the ban) there isn’t a “this is my only means of communication” reason for excuse the noise.
  • Couples Who Drink Together, Stay Together – FEB 20, 2013 08:00 AM // DISCOVERY NEWS
    Drinking effects your relationship… Positively, if you drink together. If you drink apart, the most issues you’ll have when together. So basically, if you’re going to drink, you’ll want to do it together. Keep in mind, though, heavy drinkers statically (even when matched) have a higher rate of divorce than their less sloshed counterparts.

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Meteoric News Dump

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This is going to be a monster News Roundup, because for awhile there was a ton of news on this Combined Asteroid Flyby and Russian Meteor Hit. I know it’s not as up to date as it could be, but I wanted the excitement to roll over and be able to present the full picture via articles from assorted sources.

I wish every story ended this happy

dt.common.streams.StreamServer-1Basset Hound Ginger was lost in a divorce by Jamie Carpentier, who raised her. The Ex eventually gave her to a shelter, who gave her to some old folks, who eventually had to give her back. And Jamie, not looking for a dog and just acting on a whim,  found her on the Shelter Website.

The two are no happily reunited and Jamie, who had decided he was done with dogs, is now her master and best friend once again!

Every dog has it’s Day, but Ginger’s day was long in coming. I wish every dog got to find their people, even when those people have spent 10 years outside of their lives.

Source

A Basset Hound Is Reunited With the Man Who Raised Her, and We’re Crying Happy Tears: Jamie Carpentier raised the dog as a puppy. She returned to him a decade later. – Feb 20th 2013 //

Critter News Roundup Vol.4

I loves me some Critter News. Here’s some of the latest news on animals.

  • 3 Islands Overrun By Crazy Animals – FEB 14, 2013 08:00 AM // DISCOVERY NEWS
    Islands full of feral cats, tiny migrating craps, and golden pit-viper snakes.
  • Virtual Fence Offers High-Tech Herding – FEB 15, 2013 01:29 PM ET // BY JESSE EMSPAK
    What we’re talking about is a smarter version of that underground dog fencing. Not only will it keep the animals in, but use the jolts to convince the animals to move to the places with the most water or the best grazing. Talk about upsizing technology.
  • Thousands of Dolphins Spotted Near San Diego – Monday, Feb 18, 2013 // By Sarah Grieco
    Dolphins covered 7 miles of ocean. Whale and dolphin tours are doing abnormally well this year, and this “super mega-pod” amounts to one of the larger mega-pods viewed of late.

And… Since I’m ready to be done but I don’t want this story to get buried (animal news other than the Ketchum Bigfoot paper is pretty hard to come by right now!), I have for you a bonus story that you can read at your own leisure!

On Homeopathy

Homeopathy is a fallacy. It has no science that supports that dilution of a substance leads to health benefits. Nor can any ability of “like to cure like” be established in any study of merit on the subject.

This is why I was a little surprised when Doubtful News reported posted an article about the U.K.’s HHS (National Health Service) essentially hiding information about the dangers of Homeopathy and its ineffectuality. In fact, if read this blog post  by Guy Chapman you’ll see indications that the NHS is choosing to ignore evidence they have gathered concerning Homeopathy and is actively repressing it to avoid conflict!

And if that isn’t reason enough for you to avoid Homeopathy, I suggest reading what the Quackometer has to say on the subject. Not only is in effectual medicine, what little evidence they have appears to be rooted entirely in conformation bias. And there’s a monstrous lack of quality control, or even the contents of a package to contain the active ingredient, for something to be labeled a Homeopathic cure!

I have no problem believing that herbs can cure things, that we can find medicine in odd places, or that some things that are difficult to believe might potentially work… But when the science says “no” in such a resounding way you accept it. That’s what Science is for. It helps us sort and understand the world around us. It helps us to do the best to be as healthy as we can.

Science shouldn’t be neutered so a few individuals can make money on quackery.

News Followup: Pope Triggers Doomsday Prophecies!

Photo by The Gaurdian
Photo by The Gaurdian

Earlier today in the Old school News Roundup I featured a Story about how Lightning Struck St. Peter’s Dome.

Well, it’s since come to light courtesy of Discovery News that a 12th Century prophecy states that there will be only 112 Popes before the last Judgement. Did you know that Benedict XVI is pope number 111?

The prophecy itself originated with Saint Malachy, who recorded a list of future popes and made other predictions based on a vision he claims to have received from God. A number of his prophecies have come true, but it’s difficult to rule out causation through subliminal knowledge vs actual prophecy.

Malachy predicts that the next Pope shall be called Peter the Roman and he will be the last of the popes and “feed his flock amid many tribulations after which the city of the seven hills shall be utterly destroyed, and the awful judge will judge the people”.

Pretty dark stuff, eh?

 

Addendum

Apparently I have trouble reading sometimes. I had it pointed out to me that there have been well over 200 Popes. It turns out it actually refers to Malachy’s 112 predicted popes. Benedict is #111 on that list. (John Paul II is also considered #110, though it’s easy enough to match up Popes and Prophecies, so I’d take that with a grain of salt.

 

SOURCES:
Resigning Pope Brings Doomsday Prophecy
FEB 13, 2013 12:12 PM ET // BY ROSSELLA LORENZI
The Papal Apocalypse!
08:56 EST, 13 February 2013 // By DANIEL MILLER, DAILY MAIL

Old School News Roundup

This roundup features news related to things that are old.

  • Wichcraft Belief in Malawi Sparks Violence – FEB 11, 2013 04:28 PM ET // BY BENJAMIN RADFORD
    George Thindawa, Executive Director of the Association of Secular Humanism in Malawi, has launched a 3 year campaign to attempt to stamp out belief in magic and witches through public education in hopes of eradicating violence against suspected magic-doers in the country.
  • Latin a Dead Language? Not Really – FEB 12, 2013 08:26 AM ET // BY ROSSELLA LORENZI
    Knowledge of the “dead” latin language led to Giovanna Chirri getting the scoop on the world when Pope Benedict XVI made his farewell speech in the archaic language.
  • Act of God? Lightning Strikes St. Peter’s Dome – FEB 13, 2013 07:45 AM ET // BY MARC LALLANILLA, LIFE’S LITTLE MYSTERIES STAFF WRITER
    The lightning strike in question came within hours of Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation. It is unlikely, however, to have been an act of God due to the fact that locations of religious significance are frequently the highest thing around and thus the thing that is mostly likely to be struck.

Critter News Roundup Vol.3

I do love the critters of the world. And they really seem unable to keep themselves out of the news.

  • Japan Whaling On Choppy Seas – FEB 6, 2013 11:08 AM ET // BY KIERAN MULVANEY
    Japan has been whaling “for science” for a long time now, and other nations are finally getting truly sick of it, just like their people are. Australia demanded the removal of Shonan Maru No.2, a Japanese whaling vessel, from their waters in the in the Souther Ocean. They have, apprently, in the past communicated their desires for no whaling in their waters, and this is the first formal public complaint and demand that they have made on the subject. Good on ya’, Austrailia! Even better, New Zealand has joined the legal action they have filed. hopefully they’ll put an end to the “science” whaling that’s being done: Japan has yet to explain why they’re whaling and what research they are preforming.
  • Puppy ‘Klondike’ Born from Frozen Embryo – FEB 5, 2013 02:32 PM ET // BY JENNIFER VIEGAS
    I didn’t realize that this had never been done in dogs, because they’ve done it in cattle and a few other species for so long. There are theories that this technology could be used to increase the numbers of rare breeds, but I’m more interested in the implications for wild canines that are critically endangered, such as the African Wild Dogs.
  • How Smart Is Your Dog? Find Out with ‘Dognition’ – FEB 5, 2013 11:25 AM ET // BY TECHNEWSDAILY
    This is an app. Which personally I have no plans to use. Much like a doting mother, I have no intention learning that either of my babies are anything but brilliant. No, it’s not really a canine IQ test, and chances are I’ll be checking out it when it launches. It’s really a study, wrapped up in an app. Dog owners answer questions about their furry friends.

New Roundup Special Edition: Crap that surprises Kitsu

This roundup is made up of news that Kitsu can’t believe someone had to report. Not because of ridiculousness, but rather because it’s happening at all.

  • How Cocaine and Controversy Mixed With Soda – FEB 4, 2013 08:44 AM ET // BY ROSSELLA LORENZI
    I didn’t watch the superbowl commercials, but apparently their were accusations of discrimination based entirely on a story-based decision, and no one seemed to consider beforehand that there would be a story-based reason in the final commercial for why you couldn’t just vote whatever way you wanted all willy-nilly. Way to assume the worst, people.
  • Women in Paris Can Now Wear Pants – FEB 4, 2013 01:30 PM ET // BY AMANDA ONION
    It’s mindblowing in the modern world that this law, while invalidated by other laws and accepted cultural changes, is still on the books at all. And this news story does not report the removal of the law, only a public statement that the law has been invalidated. Or rather “the implicit abrogation of the order”, because plain language isn’t french enough, apprently.
  • What Causes Early Puberty in Girls? – FEB 8, 2013 09:00 AM ET // BY SHEILA M. ELDRED
    First off, how did I not catch something before now that the new ages for early onset puberty is 6-7 (variation is based on race)? And, how did I miss the story about the nine year old who got raped and ended up giving birth. Just… Holy crap. As if the idea of being a parent wasn’t scary enough… Now you have to worry about pregnant pre-teens?

And down here are a few bonus stories that are too cool to just delete from my feeds, but are edging towards out of date:

News Dump Vol.4

I got distracted by a number of stories that I wanted to talk specifically about, so some interesting stories are getting backlogged. In the interest of getting them to you in some sort of a timely matter, here they are!