Extra attention to a few Centrist blogs.
PatHMV on sword-swallowing: As long as you stick to swords, and swords only, there seems to be very little risk in the occupation of “sword swallower.” Ever mindful for publishing opportunities, a couple of doctors conducted a survey of sword swallowers, which they published as Sword Swallowing and Its Side Effects in the December 23, 2006 edition of the British Medical Journal. Scientific American humorist Steve Mirsky reports on the study in Hard to Swallow: Look Out Stomach Here It Comes.”
Including freaky video. And also read this post by Tully about a “colossal squid… taken in Antarctic waters by a New Zealand fishing crew seeking toothfish in the Ross Sea off Antarctica. It was eating one of the caught fish on their line. Very few colossal squid have ever been found, though the scars left by their hooked tentacles are often found on the backs of their main predators, sperm whales, and numerous beaks have been recovered from the stomachs of the whales. Estimated weight of this specimen is 450kg, or just under 1000 lbs, and estimated length is 10 meters, or about 33-34 feet long. It’s believed to be the largest specimen ever found of this, the world’s largest invertebrate and largest cephalopod, possessing the largest eyes of any living creature.” Look at that photo… What the youknowwhat.
Libby Spencer writes: “testimony on Jose Padilla’s mental competence to stand trial reveals that he is unable to assist in his own defense because of a mental breakdown caused by the Abu Ghraib style interrogation tactics used on him in a prison right here in the United States. In essence, he has been punished before he was convicted of a crime.” Continue reading at The Impolitic.
Jon Swift discovered Wikipedia’s partisan little brother Conservapedia: “Conservapedia is based on good Christian values, unlike Wikipedia, which I gather from the name, is based on Wiccan. In Wikipedia, according to the founders of Conservapedia, “Christianity receives no credit for the great advances and discoveries it inspired, such as those of the Renaissance.” But Conservapedia gives Christianity its due for being so supportive of the work of Galileo and Copernicus.” Read Jon’s entire post. One example:
Kangaroo: “Like all modern animals, modern kangaroos originated in the Middle East and are the descendants of the two founding members of the modern kangaroo baramin that were taken aboard Noah’s Ark prior to the Great Flood.”
Ron Beas on the growth of extreme poverty in America. He quotes the WaPo: “A McClatchy Newspapers analysis of 2005 census figures, the latest available, found that nearly 16 million Americans are living in deep or severe poverty. A family of four with two children and an annual income of less than $9,903 – half the federal poverty line – was considered severely poor in 2005. So were individuals who made less than $5,080 a year.
The McClatchy analysis found that the number of severely poor Americans grew by 26 percent from 2000 to 2005. That’s 56 percent faster than the overall poverty population grew in the same period.”
Go to MEJ to read more.
McQ has an interesting video up over at QandO. A bit patriotic but true nonetheless.
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