Jenny McCarthy quote of the day
It was amazing to watch the French eat though. Creams, breads, sorbets, smoking, drinking wine and the women were all skinny and gorgeous. What the hell is that about? I’m hanging in there for no sugar. I hope you are too. The French might be able to get away with eating whatever they want, but at least American girls have bigger boobs. Hahaha.
Modern day Isaacs
READ THE FULL ENTRY AT “PHARYNGULA”
Colleen Hauser has flown the coop. She has defied a court order to bring her sick son, Daniel Hauser, to a qualified doctor for essential medical care. The boy has Hodgkins lymphoma, a disease with a very good prognosis if treated soon, but is a painful death sentence within a few years if neglected. His mother, though, is fervently religious, and no doubt smug in her righteousness, has bundled her son into a car and is devoutly driving to Mt. Moriah. I hope she’s not expecting an angel of the lord to appear and spare her son.
What she has done has gone even deeper. Daniel is 13 years old; he has been tested for his competency, and has been found to be completely illiterate. He was homeschooled. Colleen Hauser has been wielding the sacrificial dagger of her faith on her son for years, crippling his brain and rendering him unable to evaluate the real-world consequences of their decisions. I wonder how many Daniel Hausers there are in this country, living lives of quiet ignorance, unexposed by the trauma of a physical disease?
And here’s the real tragedy: Colleen Hauser almost certainly loves her son and believes she is doing what is best for him, every step of the way. I can identify with her in that regard — I can understand that deep, gut-wrenching love a parent can have for her children, the kind that can put you to your knees with agony at every little hurt they suffer…and Daniel Hauser faces deeper pain and an imminent threat of death that my kids have never had. But Colleen Hauser is so afflicted with the poison of religion that she has lost sight of reality, and is going to kill her son with her ignorance.
Darwinius changes everything
READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY AT “NOT EXACTLY ROCKET SCIENCE”
Yesterday, the entire world changed noticeably as the media, accompanied by some scientists, unveiled a stunning fossilised primate. The creature has been named Darwinius masillae, but also goes by Ida, the Link, the Chosen One and She Who Will Save Us All.
The new fossil is remarkably complete and well-preserved, although the media glossed over these facts in favour of the creature’s ability to cure swine flu. Ida was hailed as a “missing link” in human evolution, beautifully illustrating our transition from leaping about in trees to rampant mass-media sensationalism.
Speaking to a group of international reporters, the scientists who discovered Ida described the animal in painstaking detail to the sound of Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries played from 50-foot speakers. As a barrage of fireworks launched in the background, one journalist said, “The release of 30 doves just at the right moment really helped to drive home the unique paleoecological perspective that Ida provides.”
Evolutionary biologist Stephen Wilton added, “Ida has been waiting for us for 47 million years so I’m grateful that the publication of the paper wasn’t rushed and that the whole thing didn’t turn into some sort of media circus. You never know when that might happen.”
Measles outbreak ‘worst in years’
READ THE FULL ENTRY AT “BBC NEWS”
Health chiefs in Wales are dealing with a “massive” measles outbreak, with numbers already four times the highest figure recorded over the past 13 years.
Four nursery school children were treated in hospital as part of 127 cases across mid and west Wales, while there are another 39 cases in Conwy.
The National Public Health Service (NPHS) in Wales saw 39 cases last year. Its highest figure in 2003 was 44.
Officials appealed for parents to take up the MMR vaccine.
Dr Mac Walapu, consultant in communicable disease control for the NPHS, said: “For as long as there are children who do not receive their MMR vaccinations, there is the potential for outbreaks of measles to happen and we would remind anyone in Wales, and not just in the affected area.”
A spokeswoman added: “We need to be up front with parents.”
She added: “We try not to be too scary when we talk to people about this, but children die of measles and children are impaired by measles. “It puts children in hospital. The reality it is that this is happening now, in Wales. Measles is very contagious.”
She said the outbreak was set to be the biggest in Wales since the MMR vaccine was introduced in 1988.
Married girl’s murder in cold blood
READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT “DAILY TIMES”
RAWALPINDI: The family of a young girl killed in cold blood by her husband and mother-in-law has been shuttling between the offices of Regional Police Officer (RPO) Nasir Khan Durrani and City Police Officer (CPO) Rao Muhammad Iqbal for justice for over two months but of no avail.
Blinking back his tears, Usman Ali, the brother of ill-fated Saba Sehar, 22, told Daily Times in a choked voice that his sister was married to Azhar Aziz, a resident of Adiala Road, last year.
He said in February this year Azhar in assistance with his mother, Azizun Nisa, beat his sister in revenge for not giving the hand of their youngest sister to his younger brother. They beat Saba black and blue, and when she collapsed on the floor from torture and demanded water, Azhar poured acid in her mouth.
Usman said that his family shifted Saba to Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Hospital (BBSH) where she succumbed to injuries on March 13.
Suspended between life and death, the victim narrated the entire episode to the investigation officer of Saddar Bairooni police. The police registered a case under Section 302/34 against Azhar and his mother and sent the former to Adiala Jail on judicial remand. However, his mother being co-accused was not arrested despite registration of an FIR.
In her death statement registered by the police, Saba said, “My mother-in-law grabbed me by hair, while my husband punched and kicked me, making me almost unconscious. When I fell down on the ground and was in a daze, I called for water. But my husband poured a glassful of acid in my mouth.”
The Skeptologists want to hear from you!
It is the greates show not to have graced your TV set…yet! Phil Plait, Steve Novella, Michael Shermer, Brian Dunning and the whole gang from the Skepticblog, are trying really hard to get it to your TV. But they need your help, you have to write and tell them why you are so thrilled about The Skeptologists. They need as many writen testimonials as possible to use as leverage whne talking to TV companies. So go, go, go, go…GO now! In their own words:
It’s a daunting task to track down and collect all the opinions of TV viewers. We have what we know is a hit series, but in order to make it happen, we need to hear from the most powerful people affecting our success: You! You, our fantastic TV viewer. What do you think about this show concept? Have you heard of any of these talented stars? What network would you like to watch this on? Would you support the advertisers that supported The Skeptologists? Tell us here, place your comments below, we are watching and so are the networks!
Scientists hail stunning fossil
READ THE FULL ENTRY AT “BBC NEWS”
The beautifully preserved remains of a 47-million-year-old, lemur-like creature have been unveiled in the US.
The preservation is so good, it is possible to see the outline of its fur and even traces of its last meal.
The fossil, nicknamed Ida, is claimed to be a “missing link” between today’s higher primates – monkeys, apes and humans – and more distant relatives.
But some independent experts, awaiting an opportunity to see the new fossil, are sceptical of the claim.
And they have been critical of the hype surrounding the presentation of Ida.
The fossil was launched amid great fanfare at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, by the city’s mayor.
Although details of the fossil have only just been published in a scientific journal – PLoS One – there is already a TV documentary and book tie-in.
Ida was discovered in the 1980s in a fossil treasure-trove called Messel Pit, near Darmstadt in Germany. For much of the intervening period, it has been in a private collection.
The investigation of the fossil’s significance was led by Jorn Hurum of the Natural History Museum in Oslo, Norway.
He said the fossil creature was “the closest thing we can get to a direct ancestor” and described the discovery as “a dream come true”.
The female animal lived during an epoch in Earth history known as the Eocene, which was crucial for the development of early primates – and at first glance, Ida resembles a lemur.
But the creature lacks primitive features such as a so-called “toothcomb”, a specialised feature in which the lower incisor and canine teeth are elongated, crowded together and projecting forward. She also lacks a special claw used for grooming.
The team concluded that she was not simply another lemur, but a new species. They have called her Darwinius masillae, to celebrate her place of origin and the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Darwin.
Dr Jens Franzen, an expert on the Messel Pit and a member of the team, described Ida as “like the Eighth Wonder of the World”, because of the extraordinary completeness of the skeleton.
It was information “palaeontologists can normally only dream of”, he said.
In addition, Ida bears “a close resemblance to ourselves” he said, with nails instead of claws, a grasping hand and an opposable thumb – like humans and some other primates. But he said some aspects of the teeth indicate she is not a direct ancestor – more of an “aunt” than a “grandmother”.
Extraterrestrial Space Ships to Rescue us out of the Energy Crisis?
READ THE FULL ENTRY AT “CONSUMER ENERGY”
To most of us, UFO’s solving our energy problem will sound, at best, like wishful thinking, and most likely will be dismissed as insane.
A solution to our energy problems from out of this world, or is it just insane?
But if energy lobbyist Stephen Bassett has his way, President Barack Obama will release information that the government is secretly hiding on “extraterrestrial vehicles” –according to Mr. Bassett’s claims– which can be used to solve the nation’s energy problem and limit climate change in one fell swoop.
The power source, he said, chronicled in a report Greenwire did on the subject, behind a flying saucer the weight of a tractor-trailer which hurtles through galaxies at 20,000 miles per hour is astronomical.
“What is the energy system operating that craft?” Bassett said. “They’re not burning kerosene. It eliminates oil. It eliminates coal. If it’s as good as we think it is, it transforms everything.”
Mr. Bassett is the founder of the Paradigm Research Group (PRG), which launched the “Million Fax on Washington” campaign, calling for the President to release all files, call for congressional hearings, and make available extraterrestrial (ET) derived technologies to the public domain.
Bassett claims that the government has flying saucers in its possession.
He is a firm believer in the cause, and is even working free of charge to lobby on behalf of the Exopolitics Institute, an educational organization which describes itself as “dedicated to studying the key actors, institutions and political processes associated with extraterrestrial life.”
How to misuse the word “skeptic”
Compliments of Wave 3 and their article on Latifa Meena, the pet psychic! You got it, she talks to pets. I wonder if she sees dead pets as well??? So how do they abuse the word “skeptic”? Like this ( emphasis added ):
Elizabeth Hench, a skeptic by nature, believes Latifa has a gift. ”I am in medicine,” Elizabeth said. “I am a scientist. There is absolutely nothing … that I can tell you that is proof.”
She says Latifa knows things about her dogs that nobody else could – and talking to a psychic just for pets helps them feel better. “You can look into their eyes and know that they want to tell you something,” Elizabeth said. “There is a message they are trying to get to you. Latifa hears it a whole lot stronger than I do.”
Ah the pain! And the funny thing is that we’re all “skeptic by nature”. If someone was to come up to any one human being and told them to give them $100, that he was going to run around the block and come back with $200 for them, most of us would not do it becasue we are skeptical by nature.
But let me do a nice thing and educate the good folks at Wave 3 : If someone believes that another human being is literally talking to their pet AND their pet is talking back to this human being, that someone IS NOT A SKEPTIC but a gullible moron!
Repeat after me: Acupuncture does not do anything for hot flashes!
Why is it that every few months there has to be yet another worthless, badly designed study to make a ruckus about acupuncture and hot flashes? Or hypnosis and hot flashes? What is it about hot flashes that has people so intrigued? I have had entries in the past about hot flashes and alternative medicine (here, here and here are some examples). A new study has been published, yet again making the claim tha acupuncture works well to reduce hot flashes in menopausal women. Here we go again!
Abstract:
Objective: This study compared the effectiveness of individualized acupuncture plus self-care versus self-care alone on hot flashes and health-related quality of life in postmenopausal women.
There was no control group! Giving one groups acupuncture and the other nothing does not constitute a control group. The control groups should have gotten fake acupuncture and self-care in order to be effective. The authors have no way of controlling for the placebo effect. The comparison between the two groups is rendered meaningles.
Methods: This study involved a multicenter, pragmatic, randomized, controlled trial with two parallel arms. Participants were postmenopausal women experiencing, on average, seven or more hot flashes per 24 hours during seven consecutive days. The acupuncture group received 10 acupuncture treatment sessions and advice on self-care, and the control group received advice on self-care only. The frequency and severity (0-10 scale) of hot flashes were registered in a diary. Urine excretion of calcitonin gene-related peptide was assessed at baseline and after 12 weeks. The primary endpoint was change in mean hot flash frequency from baseline to 12 weeks. The secondary endpoint was change in health-related quality of life measured by the Women’s Health Questionnaire.
Results: Hot flash frequency decreased by 5.8 per 24 hours in the acupuncture group (n = 134) and 3.7 per 24 hours in the control group (n = 133), a difference of 2.1 (P < 0.001). Hot flash intensity decreased by 3.2 units in the acupuncture group and 1.8 units in the control group, a difference of 1.4 (P < 0.001). The acupuncture group experienced statistically significant improvements in the vasomotor, sleep, and somatic symptoms dimensions of the Women’s Health Questionnaire compared with the control group. Urine calcitonin gene-related peptide excretion remained unchanged from baseline to week 12.
Conclusions: Acupuncture plus self-care can contribute to a clinically relevant reduction in hot flashes and increased health-related quality of life in postmenopausal women.
Careful wording, but insufficient to say the least. At the very least the authors should have mentioned that the way their study was designed, it was impossible for them to separate the placebo effect from any real effects due to accupuncture. It is such a glaring omission that it makes you wonder how it could have been missed? Do you want to bet the the sCAM crowd will jump all over this study, proclaming that yet another study shows acupuncture’s efficacy? I give the authors a D for effort and an F for their science.
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