Page: ...
_Clare_BRONZE Member
Still wiggling
5,967 posts
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK)


Posted:
Hi there everyone,

After a couple of requests, some consideration and my own rather curvaceous tangent on the thread for the Russian families of the school massacre… I decided to start a thread dedicated to interesting issues in the daily news (or even the daily news itself, anything news-related really… you get the idea).

I’ve done a search and while there’s hundreds of threads for individual news stories, I couldn’t find one for an ongoing discussion of what’s happening in the world around us.

I know lots of people don’t follow the news, but many do, and my opinion is that discussion on current events gives people a better understanding of nations, races and ‘humanity’, for want of a better word.

HoP is in the enviable position of having a really global audience – there can’t be many websites with regular posting members from right across the world, covering such a wide spectrum of cultures, ideas and beliefs. We have the ability to look at events from many different viewpoints, so I thought we should use it.

Anyways, I was thinking we could post, or draw attention to, some of the main stories that affect us on a daily basis…

Btw, I really don’t want this to become an America-bashing thread (or any other type of bashing). I think most of us share the view that the American government are fairly appalling at the minute, and while criticism will definitely happen, I don’t want any Americans on the site to feel victimised or that pro-Bush types feel their views aren’t valid. Try to keep all the views considered and, if possible, sourced.

So anyways, let me know what you think…

A couple of interesting stories I picked up on today were:

Indonesia has become the latest nation to join the war on terrorism following the car bomb at the Australian embassy which killed 9 people and injured 180… I heard an Indonesian government official (I think it was the spokesman for the Indonesian foreign ministry) say they are 'now ready to join the war on terror', after it was alleged the ‘militant Islamic group Jemaah Islamiah’ were responsible. (sorry, am about to leave work and couldn't find a source... will try to get it tomorrow).

Also, US secretary of state Colin Powell has declared the situation in Sudan a genocide:
https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3641820.stm

It seems the countries are busy arguing over the term ‘genocide’ as opposed to actually getting out there with aid and peacekeeping forces.

Anyways, I’d be interested to hear anyone’s opinions on these stories… as well as anything else you’d like to bring up…

Thanks
take care
Clare xox

Getting to the other side smile


vanizeSILVER Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,899 posts
Location: Austin, Texas, USA


Posted:
my kind of news:

photos from Saturn's moon Titan

-v-

Wiederstand ist Zwecklos!


_Clare_BRONZE Member
Still wiggling
5,967 posts
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK)


Posted:
biggrin pretty, that looks kinda like a coastline, don't you think?!!

ubblol

Getting to the other side smile


vanizeSILVER Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,899 posts
Location: Austin, Texas, USA


Posted:
ubblol punk!

-v-

Wiederstand ist Zwecklos!


Dr_MollyPooh-Bah
2,354 posts
Location: Away from home


Posted:
"Sticking it to the creationists"

https://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2005/114/1?etoc

ado-pGOLD Member
Pirate Ninja
3,882 posts
Location: Galway/Ireland


Posted:
"You do not have access to this item"

You

being

Me....

no login...

Love is the law.


spritieSILVER Member
Pooh-Bah
2,014 posts
Location: Galveston, TX, USA


Posted:
Actually, that's what a lot of people have been saying. I even read something about it over the weekend, but now can't find the stupid article on Yahoo.

Dr_MollyPooh-Bah
2,354 posts
Location: Away from home


Posted:
that's no fun, maybe it's just that uni has a subscription to Science...
I think the Judge could have done with better reasoning, but perhaps that was the only point of law that he could use.


Sticking it to Creationists

Defenders of Darwin won a victory in Georgia this week when a federal district judge in Atlanta ordered a county school board to remove stickers from textbooks that question the validity of evolutionary theory.
In 2002, the school board of Cobb County, an Atlanta suburb and the second-largest school system in Georgia, ordered that stickers be pasted on high school biology textbooks that describe evolution as "a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things" and advising that the material should be "critically considered." A group of parents brought suit shortly afterwards, claiming the stickers violated the separation of church and state. In the opinion, dated 13 January, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia noted that describing evolution "as a theory rather than a fact" is language used by Christian fundamentalists and creationists, and clearly identifies the school board as being on the side of "religiously-motivated individuals." Judge Clarence Cooper ordered the immediate removal of the stickers.

School board officials have 30 days to appeal. Wes McCoy, chair of the science department at North Cobb High School in Kennesaw, says the county has told schools not to remove the stickers in the interim. McCoy says he's "thrilled" the court's decision. By implying that "evolution is not a particularly reliable notion" he says the disclaimer has caused confusion in students' minds about the meaning of "fact" and "theory." He adds that "more students than ever now want us to simply not teach evolution anymore 'since so many people disagree with it.'"

Eugenie Scott of the National Center for Science Education in Oakland, California, calls the ruling "very encouraging." She notes that it was fairly narrow since it does not rule out all disclaimers relating to evolution. But "this should at least discourage 'theory not fact' type disclaimers." And she says it should help plaintiffs in another lawsuit, in Dover, Pennsylvania, who are opposing a new requirement that high school students discuss "problems" with Darwinism and consider "other theories of evolution including ... intelligent design."

The Discovery Institute of Seattle, Washington, which promotes Intelligent Design, says it disagrees with the invalidation of the sticker. However, it is pleased with a statement by the judge that the sticker "fosters critical thinking" by encouraging students to learn about evolution and make their own assessment regarding its merit.

--CONSTANCE HOLDEN

SpitFireGOLD Member
Mand's Girl....and The Not So Shy One
2,723 posts
Location: Calgary, Alberta Canada


Posted:



Yeah, I heard about the ruling on the way home from work one day last week, and was quite happy.

One thing that always gets lost in the "fact" vs. "theory" debate is the weight that a scientific theory has.

Creationists have no grasp of the scientific method, and don't realize that something that is called a theory in the scientific world has been tested, and has a great deal of evidence to support it.

Outside of science, in every day life, a theory doesn't hold as much weight...a "non-scientific" theory actually equals a scientific hypothesis. The creationists have taken advantage of the word "theory" within the theory of evolution, and used it to their advantage when they preach to those who don't have any sort of scientific background:

"Science teachers are teaching something as loose as a theory as fact to your kids about the creation of God's planet and children. It must be stopped."

*grumble* I am not a fan of creationists. I'm REALLY not a fan of geologists who call themselves creationists....especially the ones who claim the rock at the bottom of the Grand Canyon is younger than the rock at the top. Oh and the ones who claim to have seen tracks of men along side tracks of dinosaurs. Their loose evidence has been refuted time and time again, but they ignore the obvious errors in their so called research.

*ahem*

Solitude sometimes speaks to you, and you should listen.


vanizeSILVER Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,899 posts
Location: Austin, Texas, USA


Posted:
get 'em Spitty!

-v-

Wiederstand ist Zwecklos!


SpitFireGOLD Member
Mand's Girl....and The Not So Shy One
2,723 posts
Location: Calgary, Alberta Canada


Posted:
LEmmmme at 'em!!! *growls and hisses*

wink

Solitude sometimes speaks to you, and you should listen.


DominoSILVER Member
UnNatural Scientist - Currently working on a Breville-legged monkey
757 posts
Location: Bath Uni or Shrewsbury, UK


Posted:
Scientists named "Steve" for evolution

This press release is a little out of date. The newest T-shirt/list has over 440 rather than 220 names.

The original Project Steve website

Give me a lever long enough and a place to stand and I can beat the world into submission.


vanizeSILVER Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,899 posts
Location: Austin, Texas, USA


Posted:
heh! I'll have to forward that to a guy (named steve) that I got my Ph.D. with.

-v-

Wiederstand ist Zwecklos!


vanizeSILVER Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,899 posts
Location: Austin, Texas, USA


Posted:
check it out:

AN ENTIRE FLAMMABLE WORLD!!!

https://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=st.../space_titan_dc

-v-

Wiederstand ist Zwecklos!


spritieSILVER Member
Pooh-Bah
2,014 posts
Location: Galveston, TX, USA


Posted:
And here's something really sad to go along with all of that about Saturn...makes me wonder what NASA can actually accomplish since it's had so many human errors in the past several years.

https://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=st...c/lost_in_space

vanizeSILVER Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,899 posts
Location: Austin, Texas, USA


Posted:
actually - that must be a european space agency mistake - they were in charge of that probe. NASA is responsible for the big Cassini mission, but the ESA for the Huygens probe and therefor this flub up. but then - there are problems on every space mission and heartbreaks are always part of it for some part of a team. the Huygens probe and the entire Cassini mission has been dramatically succesful overall, and should rather hep restore your faith in NASA rather than cast more doubt on it. Just sesationalist reporting and bad journalism if you think otherwise, s the scientific community is pleased as punch about almost the entire mission.
EDITED_BY: vanize (1106328797)

-v-

Wiederstand ist Zwecklos!


spritieSILVER Member
Pooh-Bah
2,014 posts
Location: Galveston, TX, USA


Posted:
NASA launched it thought from FL...

vanizeSILVER Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,899 posts
Location: Austin, Texas, USA


Posted:
that has nothing to do with an antenna failing - which BTW, is poorly reported in this article - the key reason he didn't get his data is that the antenna failed. that antenna has nothing to do with NASA. and if his instrument didn't get turned on, it hardly matters (and would have been ESAs fault anyway) - but when I read the article - it is pretty clear to me that the reported is exaggerating and that the instrument is on - it just couldn't use the failed antenna it relied on.

-v-

Wiederstand ist Zwecklos!


_Clare_BRONZE Member
Still wiggling
5,967 posts
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK)


Posted:
So despite an 'oversight' (resulting in the partial waste of someone's lifework), a successful mission overall. Grand. Another pretty picture to hang on the wall biggrin



And on the theme of space cadets... Bush's inauguration.



I chortled in a kindof 'oh god, no' way.

It contained all the gusto, applause, patriotism, applause, fundamentalism... ahem. More applause.



If you really want to read it:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/01/20050120-1.html



However, did anyone catch the speech he gave the night before to guests at the sickening and ironically titled 'Celebration of Freedom' concert?



https://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/01/20050119-15.html

(complete with added applause)



Note, if you will, the last paragraph, which states:

"We have a calling from beyond the stars to stand for freedom, and America will always be faithful to that cause. "



He referred to this at the RNC, and there are also direct chunks of the speech taken from JFK's inauguration...



https://jpundit.typepad.com/jci/2004/09/a_calling_from_.html



It seems to me that the man with an itchy trigger finger on the button, is calling for divine intervention, or help from little green men.



Critique:

https://www.newropeans-magazine.org/articles_philo/2004/9_221004_1.php



US critique:

https://www.thenation.com/capitalgames/index.mhtml?pid=1779





Anyways, for the badgers among us...

https://www.guardian.co.uk/online/news/0,12597,1395737,00.html?gusrc=rss



And finally... for the moment... January is said to be the most depressing month?

Not sure why, we've finally gotten over the unplesantness of Christmas and New Year. Perhaps because, in the northern hemisphere anyways, it is rainy and miserable.



So what to do, what to do!?



Have sex.



British:

https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nottinghamshire/4194867.stm



American:

https://www.theonion.com/news/index.php?issue=4103&n=2



Have a good weekend m'lovelies

xxx

Getting to the other side smile


vanizeSILVER Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,899 posts
Location: Austin, Texas, USA


Posted:
How would you like to stumble upon this?:

Leonardo Da Vinci's forgotten workshop

(have to admit I'm a bit of a Da Vinci fan)

-v-

Wiederstand ist Zwecklos!


vanizeSILVER Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,899 posts
Location: Austin, Texas, USA


Posted:
warning: rant about journalism.



the following is a clear example of facts blatently ignored to make a story a tiny bit more sensational, taken from an AP story on the recent landing of the Huygens probe on Titan:



Written by:




researchers continue to pore over data collected for clues to how the only celestial body known to have a significant atmosphere other than Earth came to be and whether it can provide clues to how life arose here.








(taken from: https://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=st...e_titan_mission
)



"only celestial body known to have a significant atmosphere other than Earth"?!?!?!?!



what about Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus??? And Mars has an atmosphere too - significant enough to have weather patterns and cause erosion. We even know of nearly 150 other planets around other stars that have atmospheres much more "significant" than Titan's, with more being dicovered every day!



you would think they would get a reporter who knew a least tiny bit about space to write an article on a space probe, wouldn't you?



and while this is an extreme and obvious mistake (that even most grade school children in the states wouldn't make), I see several more subtle ones daily in articles about things I know something about, so how am I supposed to beleive anything in any article where I am not an expert?



Has journalism always been this shoddy, or has some standard that existed in the past wavered and finally fallen by the wayside? I mean I know you can't know everything, but a reporter covering a science story should at least know more than titan and earth have atmospheres, and even if they don't, shouldn't you at least do a rudimentary check on facts you don't know? I mean spending about 10 seconds doing a google search on "atmospheres, planets" would at least make this story presentable, never mind that the whole "life on titan" thing has never been contemplated by any serious space scientist and no one in the Huygen's probe mission is really wasting there time doing this - perhaps a cursory check for publicity purposes, but nothing more. But that I can forgive since it only twists the truth way out of perspective instead of blatently ignoring it as the "significant atmospheres" statement does.

-v-

Wiederstand ist Zwecklos!


_Clare_BRONZE Member
Still wiggling
5,967 posts
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK)


Posted:
Ok then.

What follows may read to some like one long excuse for the state of the media. It is not intended to be. I work in a newspaper and can see how the news is contructed and deconstructed. I witness first hand the malignant, but also positive impact it can have. It is one of the reasons I have continued in this job (in the face of much abuse)... instead of just complaining about it, I can actually do something about it.

In a word, no. Journalism has not always been this shoddy.

But since the advent of the internet people's perceptions of the media, and the role of the media itself, has changed almost beyond recognition.

Back in the day, news and broadcast media was highly respected (and in many places it still is - people still like to see their names and pictures in the paper). Journalists were recognised as people doing a job and readers did not expect impartiality and objectivity. They just wanted to read stories about what was going on.

However, since the age of the 'infomation revolution', when suddenly people have access to any information they want at a keystroke (and the hunger for knowledge and current affairs has increased, in my opinion), people are wanting and expecting more from their media news.

It's impossible for the media to keep up. Consumers want to know about local events, global events, environment, health, education, etc... and the media is under pressure to produce something for everyone. Consumers want to know everything... and there's no way the media can deliver it all in one bite-size piece... so a news agenda decides what goes in, and what falls by the wayside.

This, of course, is impossible. Newspapers and broadcast news have limited space and even more limited funds. Reporters can be given 6 or more stories a day to cover, simply because they need to be covered, and as you can imagine, under that pressure of time and deadline things will get missed or not reported as fully as they should be.

Sub-editors can be given a blank page and told to fill it with the top world news stories of the day. You have an hour and a half to choose your stories, lay them out, write headlines and sub them. So what do you pick? Most newspapers will take their world news stories from the PA or AP wires... and unfortunately those wires tend to lean very heavily towards Bush and his administration. Of course, it is possible to edit those stories in such a way that removes any lean... sub-editors, like anyone else, have their own personal opinions that make their way into the paper via this method.

Space, unfortunately, tends to make it into the news agenda only if it is a huge story and there is nothing else happening and the news needs something to counterbalance the inevitable death or destruction.

Neither the reporter who wrote the story or the sub-editor who processes it will check the fine details - punctuation and grammar, yes, fine details... probably not. Information is accredited to its source, anything dubious is marked 'allegedly' and hopefully both sides of the argument are offered. Sorry, but that's just the way it happens. If it's something glaringly obvious (as this was, and should have been caught), then it will be checked and corrected. But more often than not, it will get through.

It is not intentional, but most media agencies just do not have the funds, the time or the capability to check everything.

As for twisting the truth... hmmm. Certainly, some unscrupulous journalists do this. But, to be honest, I don't and I haven't met anyone who does. Because it gives everyone a bad name.

I agree that the media has become out of its depth in what is expected of it... they are expected to be the watchdog for governments with a bigger PR budget than the combined profits of all newspapers put together.

But it is not fair to suggest that the entire media is corrupt because of it.
We all find out our news from somewhere. You know what's going on in the world because some journalist is out there finding out for you... it may not be the best, but it's the best available.

And with the introduction of the internet comes the responsibility for the consumer to collect his/her information themselves. Search around. Read from more than one source... ahem, the truth is out there biggrin

Getting to the other side smile


PrometheusDiamond In The Rough
459 posts
Location: Richmond, Virginia


Posted:
Firepoise hit it right on the head. Having come from a newspaper backgound, I often found myself defending my trade and what it is that we do. I get sick of all the dittoheads in the world talking about the “liberal media” and our penchant for only printing things that we agree with or that will further our evil liberal causes.

So I often tell people that its our job to report the news no matter who it damns. Actually, I find that media types get a kick out of “outing” any activity by anyone, be it their favorite politician or least favorite business person.

“We don’t hide anything,” I say. Sometimes I wish it were true.

For example, not long after our first war with Iraq, I discovered that Iraq was claiming that we bombed a civilian airport and our Department of Defense acknowledged the attack. “Oh crap, we’re at war again,” I think to myself.

So I turn on the TV to see what the deal is.



CNN, MSNBC, Fox, you name it. No news about us bombing Iraq.



Checking the WWW, I find the same thing.



Finally, by mid-afternoon, MSNBC has a cryptic message on their crawl (the fly-by-news on the bottom of the screen).



I figured I’d read it in Friday’s paper. Then Friday’s paper came out and it wasn’t in there.



I asked our city editor what she knew about us bombing Iraq. Answer: nada.



Saturday. Sunday. Monday. Still no TV or WWW news.



A quick check of the AP wire and ... hmm, nothing on the wire.



Finally, I used my favorite Internet tool — google — and searched “bomb Iraq airport,” coming up with a Web site in Colorado of all places that had the scoop.



The site had a list of all the times we’ve bombed Iraq in the past two years. That’s right, I said ALL the times. I counted 92 total, Remember that this is from a coupla years BEFORE our current fracas with Iraq.



Nancy Stohlman, of the Colorado Campaign for Middle East Peace told me that she wasn’t surprised that I hadn’t heard of the previous 91 occasions where we dropped bombs. Stohlman said she was in the Middle East a short time ago, and found herself next to Western reporters who were desperately trying to relay stories back home about the ongoing atrocities in Israel. But somewhere between the reporters best interests and their bosses decisions, the stories were either watered down or lost, she said.



After seeing the Colorado story, I called AP and asked that one be sent over.



“The American media is the worst,” Stohlman said. “And the public still thinks that we’re waiting to drop the bombs. We’ve been bombing and attacking them physically all along.” According to the stories on the group’s Web site, dozens have been killed and hundreds injured in the bombings. Russia condemned the U.S. for its actions, claiming it “complicated peace efforts.” These stories aren’t written by some crackpots. They’re legitimate stories from the Associated Press or Reuters. Some are from foreign news agencies.



The American public doesn’t understand or want to believe that the media is still a corporation run by people with interests. Right now those interests lie with Bush. Just look at who owns the major TV networks: NBC is owned by GE, while Disney owns ABC and Westinghouse controls CBS. Disney is the only “liberal” in the group — if you consider wholesome family movies a liberal slant. GE and Westinghouse, meanwhile are out building bombs — the same ones that our planes are dropping onto Iraq.



So yeah, the media does slant and stifle news for the sake of its own interests. Primarily war mongering Republican ones. For more information on what's REALLY happening over there, check www.ccmep.org. Tell them I sent you.
EDITED_BY: Prometheus (1107012138)

Dance like it hurts; Love like you need money; Work like someone is watching.

Never criticize someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes. That way, when you DO criticize them, you are a mile away, and you have their shoes.


_Clare_BRONZE Member
Still wiggling
5,967 posts
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK)


Posted:
Argh. I just wrote a long reply and the computer crashed. Its starting to happen every time I insult the invasion (or perhaps I'm just paranoid eek ubblol)!



Anyways,



Prometheus... many hugs for that hug



It amazes me that the US media seem surprised by the less-than-welcoming attitude of Iraqi's to the invasion ("but, duh, why are they attacking us? We brought them democracy!")... when a quick glance at their previous experience will show why!



I really feel for you trying to work under such an oppresive system. I know the media environment here (UK and Ireland) has many flaws, but by comparison we're almost free! rolleyes



The BBC is the most well-funded, and consequently, often the best news network here. The primetime 6o'clock news isn't always great, but the 24-hour BBC World News channel and website is not too bad.



However, late at night they sometimes show a pre-recorded broadcast from ABC (not sure why, perhaps to remind us how lucky we are?! ubblol)



Anyways, this week, ABC have been doing a series of live broadcasts from Iraq, in the run-up to this farce of an election, tacked together by the most annoying, monotonal anchorman I have ever witnessed.



They managed to gain entry to Abu Graib last night (a tremendous opportunity for any journalist). Unfortunately, they chose to ignore the prisoners pleading to talk to them, and dutifully followed the soldiers around, accompanied by a banal voiceover explaining how 'our boys' were so brave and doing such a good job and 'all that nasty abuse business was now in the past'.



A fight among the prisoners (which occured while the reporters were present with running cameras!) was overlooked and no images broadcast. They did, however, show the wonderful military hospitals those men, with serious head injuries, had been brought to... accompanied by the brutal comment "they try to blow us up, but our boys fix them up anyways".



Even with military censorship, these people had a duty to report this better. It was a sickening waste of an opportunity.



You also mentioned stories slipping by under the radar... When the invasion started I was watching BBC news late one night when a reporter gave a live, flustered, broadcast of a report he had just received of a US shell that had landed on a childrens hospital, flattening it. He had a couple of eyewitnesses and a poor quality film.



He said the reports spoke of blood in the streets. He said the hospital had been full of sick children. He said there were also doctors killed. He said he would get to the scene and report later. That was the last I heard of the US bombing of a children's hospital.



I searched news agencies and networks, but nothing turned up. I was really saddened that such a story was allowed to disappear (though I understand why it was hushed up).



Have you seen Control Room? It is an excellent documentary following the experiences of Al-Jazeera (Iraq's news network) from the beginning of the invasion.



At one point a journalist comments: "We have gone from one of the most censored news networks to one of the most free [or words to that effect]". And it's true.



Al-Jazeera suddenly had no censorship, no government to answer to, and they were on the scene reporting this historic event. In a bizarre way, it was one of the most perfect environments for a reporter.



But then we saw these reporters watching US news networks, and listening to those networks tell their viewers that Al-Jazeera was nothing but a propaganda machine, spreading lies and disinformation on behalf of Saddam's followers.



It was enough to make you cry.



Pah. Good luck xx

hug



PS: It's the middle of the night and I need to sleep... but I wanted to flag these two stories today...



Of course, the farce of an election in Iraq:

https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4219569.stm



and get up-to-date reports from Al-Jazeera... conveniently in English.

https://www.aljazeera.com/



And the other story that really pised me off today. Apparently, smoking cannabis 24 hours a day, every day is bad for you.

No, really?! And is drinking alcohol 24 hours a day, every day going to make you an alcoholic? Is chain smoking cigarettes going to kill you?

As usual, fearmongerers have jumped on the bandwagon to suggest that cannabis smokers suffer from schizophrenia. And I haven't heard one media source speak to a cannabis smoker, who would most likely say 'you know when you're smoking too much'.

https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4218851.stm

Getting to the other side smile


vanizeSILVER Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,899 posts
Location: Austin, Texas, USA


Posted:
six stories a day?



and then it sounds like a lot of those end up on the cutting room floor (sub editor's waste basket)?



if that is true - it seems like some pre-sub editing should be done so that journalists can write fewer stories and have more time to check them. this is of course, probably completely impracticle.



the last story Firepoise pointed out is more or less what I mean about me hardly beleiving any scientific stories I read anymore - especially medical or psychological fields. Combine that with the fact that I know how research facilities spin stuff wildly to try and get more research funds, seem to completely ignore the results from the control groups that MUST be part of the research (never mind me getting into my rant about paople choosing control groups in such a way as to almost assure their findings).



I suppose you are all familiar with the article about the the hazardous effects of "hydrogen dioxide"? about how too much exposure causes certain death, so on and so forth, and then at the end of the article it asks you to vote in a poll if this chemical should be banned, and so you vote and you get to see like 92% of the poeple think it should be before they bother to tell you that you should be careful to avoid exposure hydrogen dioxide under other more common names such as "H2O" and "water".

-v-

Wiederstand ist Zwecklos!


Tao StarPooh-Bah
1,662 posts
Location: Bristol


Posted:
lol

I had a dream that my friend had a
strong-bad pop up book,
it was the book of my dreams.


Wonder MonkeyBRONZE Member
Certainly confused
121 posts
Location: Chelmsford, Essex, United Kingdom


Posted:
Scary stuff Vanize! eek

My Mummy Says Im Special

bounce ubbloco bounce


PrometheusDiamond In The Rough
459 posts
Location: Richmond, Virginia


Posted:
I once circulated that very survey for a sociology experiment concerning how easily people panic. I think my numbers were closer to 86%, the Science building wrecked the curve....

That was almost as fun as putting a 'Wet Paint' sign on a wall and watching how many people walk by and touch it...

Dance like it hurts; Love like you need money; Work like someone is watching.

Never criticize someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes. That way, when you DO criticize them, you are a mile away, and you have their shoes.


Pink...?BRONZE Member
Mistress of Pink...Multicoloured
6,140 posts
Location: Over There, United Kingdom


Posted:
I wonder how much this will do to solve the troubles in Israel & Palestine, but it's at least it's a step in the right direction -



Israel & Palestine make truce



edit: just had to add This story in for the line, "The Ministry of Defence spokesman did not confirm what toppings were on the pizza" ubblol
EDITED_BY: Pink...? (1107883492)

Never pick up a duck in a dungeon...


_Clare_BRONZE Member
Still wiggling
5,967 posts
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK)


Posted:
Lol, heard about the pizza story this morning... classic.
The temptation would be there, though. You've got this massive bloody helicopter and you want to impress your girlfriend... biggrin


I think the Israel/Palestine deal has been on the cards since Arafat's death, but you're right... let's hope it makes a difference and puts an end to the suicide attacks.

Getting to the other side smile


vanizeSILVER Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,899 posts
Location: Austin, Texas, USA


Posted:
so does that go to show (as has been said before) that Arafat really was working against a peace deal? Or do you think it has more to do with Sharon suddenly more willing to deal with the palstinians now that his old personal enemy Arafat is dead? Probably both I suppose...

-v-

Wiederstand ist Zwecklos!


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