From the “truth is stranger than fiction file”:
A 40-year-old Egyptian who checked into a hospital with a complaint that something was moving in his brains actually had seven leeches crawling inside his ears.
The patient was given a local anaesthetic and the leeches, each one measuring 2cm-long, were pulled out.
Read the full story in the Gulf News.
On August 30 I wrote about an article on the Judge Rotenberg Center in Massachusetts, which treats the behaviour of troubled children. The post can be found here. The piece in Mother Jones referred to the centre’s use of electrocshock therapy for children as young as nine or ten.
Since the post, Matthew L Israel, who is head of the centre, visited the blog and commented on the article. Although I can’t confirm it was in fact he who posted, the ISP matches that of the Rotenberg Center. In the interest of right of reply, I offer you his what he has to say:
Ms. Gonnerman’s article “School of Shock,” which appears in the September/October issue of the Mother Jones magazine, is an entirely one-sided and biased account of the court- and parent-approved behavior modification therapy used at the Judge Rotenberg Center to successfully treat, without drugs, severe (sometimes life-threatening) behavior problems of children and young adults with special needs that have not responded to any other form of treatment. For readers who would like to hear the other side of this story, please see http://www.judgerc.org/ResponsetoGonnermanArticle.pdf
Finally, a Democratic sex scandal! Matthew Barrett shows porn to students. (Mr Angry)
Aussie scientists make diabetes breakthrough. The cause of type-2 diabetes has been found. (ABC News)
US adds 100,000 jobs in August. Good economic news from the States for once. (AFP)
China blocking RSS feeds. Unsurprising given the level of internet censorship. (Techcrunch)
Cities are key to greentech progress. Local authorities in the US are proving to be catalysts for the cleantech industry. (Earth2Tech)
Bush says US ‘does not do torture’. That’s not what the New York Times says. (AP)
US army is embedding anthropologists. The programme “enlists the help of cultural anthropologists to help tackle the tricky cultural nuances the military is confronting in Iraq and Afghanistan”. (Anthropology.net)
The Economist asks: “Why did George Bush veto a healthcare bill for children?”
I answer: “Because he’s a bollix.”
John Stewart agrees: “You’re slowly going from Nixon to Mr Burns!”
O’Dea denies offering to fight in pub row. Said offer was allegedly declined because of the minister’s short stature. The latest screw-up from Wonder Willie the Great Defence Minister, his most prominent being posing with a pistol. (Irish Examiner)
Toy manufacture in China. The hands that make the dolls you pay too much for. (Mazm, via Crooked Timber)
13 scifi mental illnesses. I think I suffer from vacuuphobia. I’m not the only one… am I? (SciFiChick.com)
Group renames asteroid for George Takei. Sulu is an asteroid! (MSNBC)
Mary-Kate Olsen is seven lattes tall. She does not look well. (UnaRocks)
Last survivor of the War of Independence dies at 105. I hope I don’t get fired for linking to this. (The Irish Times)
Single case could reignite ebola epidemic in DRCongo: WHO. We never seem to catch a break. (AFP)
Online censorship hurts us all. “Protecting” artists makes things worse, argues Cory Doctrow. (Guardian/Boing Boing)
Monster steals email addresses and spams it@cork membership. (Tom Raftery)
Walking for a good cause without ever leaving home. Virtual walks allow raise money for charity. (Reuters)
Ebay admits overpaying for the internet phone company Skype. It paid $2.6bn in 2005 and is taking a $1.43bn charge relating to the deal. That’s gotta hurt! (International Herald Tribune)
Woman gives birth to her own grandchildren. Egads… (AP)
News on the al-Dura front: Israeli finding that it was staged. Mohammed al-Dura was reportedly shot by the Israeli army while his fathered tried to shield him. It seems this did not happen. (James Fallows)
Musharraf: Spy chief to lead army. Looks like Pervy might actually step down this time. (CNN)
And simply because I’m feeling nostalgic, here’s the theme to The Secret of Monkey Island played on electric guitar:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM8_uyvL4sk[/youtube]
I smell a look back at some classic games coming here soon. 🙂