The fat truth about those surgically-implanted al-Qaeda bombs
NEWSWEEK says al Qaeda has an explosives expert called Ibrahim al-Asir. He and some top medics, who might not have taken the Hippocratic Oath, are creating bombs that can be stitched inside suicide bombers. This way, the killers will be able to get past airport scanners. Newsweek fails to say where the tapers will be in these cartoonish bombers, but menstruating woman might not make the most reliable mules.
We are told:
An American government source familiar with the report described it as 15 to 20 pages, single spaced, and replete with schematics and pictures. “It was almost like something you’d see in Scientific American,” the source said. (In military parlance, the bomb is called a “surgically implanted improvised explosive device,” or SIIED.) A diagram with arrows and blocks of text explained the surgical process. “The idea was to insert the device in the terrorist’s love handle,” says the U.S. government source, who declined to be named discussing sensitive intelligence. While it was not clear whether the terror doctors had ever succeeded in implanting explosives in a human being, they had experimented with dogs and other animals.
Fortunately these devices are easier to describe than to detonate. “You would have to have a very unique firing system,” says Borelli. “If it’s a ‘body bomb’ you are going to have to have a way to initiate it from the outside—almost a stent, or something like a pacemaker.”
Posted: 14th, May 2012 | In: Scare Stories | Comments (6) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Spider-Man sticks hamster to cage
TO the home of Kate Meech in Bugbrooke, Northamptonshire, where four month-old Smurf the hamster has eaten a Spider-Man magnet and become stuck to the metal bars of his cage.
Posted: 13th, April 2012 | In: Scare Stories | Comment | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Cannabis and the Daily Mail’s schizophrenia scaremongering
WHEN the Daily Mail told its readers “Just ONE cannabis joint ‘can bring on schizophrenia’ as well as damaging memory” back on October 25, 2011, we wondered. Could it be true? Well, no. It wasn’t. A mere five months later, on pril 3, 2012, the Mail wrote:
A report on research by the University of Bristol on 26 October was headlined ‘One cannabis joint “can bring on schizophrenia”.’ We are happy to clarify that, as the article explained, the research on rats found that the active ingredient in cannabis could induce symptoms similar to schizophrenia, rather than schizophrenia itself.
Posted: 10th, April 2012 | In: Scare Stories | Comment (1) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
The Hunger Games gives a Daily Mail writer’s drippy daughter nightmares
MORE signs that the Daily Mail and its online sister is aimed not at reporting news but at fomenting comment and outrage. Shona Sibary took her two daughters to see The Hunger Games. And – yep – it is a corrosive influence on young minds. A scare story is born:
Ever since the moment we stepped out of the cinema, I have quite genuinely been worried sick that they may have suffered lasting emotional scars.
One of Shona’s children cried when “her younger brother once, accidentally, trod on a ladybird”.
Posted: 4th, April 2012 | In: Scare Stories | Comments (6) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Cyclists and rowers die younger than archers and darts players
DAILY Mail Scare Story of Week: Jenny Hope has news that sitting down will kill you.
Stand up if you want to live longer, researchers have warned.
The bed-bound reach for their slippers.
A major study from Australia found sitting down too long increases your risk of dying within three years, even if you are already physically active.
Posted: 28th, March 2012 | In: Scare Stories | Comment | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Using Ashleigh Hall to create a Facebook paedo panic
IN “I posed as a girl of 14 online. What followed will sicken you” Mark Williams-Thomas told Daily Mail readers that he was “shocked by what I encountered when I spent just five minutes on a social networking site posing as a 14-year-old girl”.
Adding:
“Within 90 seconds, a middle-aged man wanted to perform a sex act in front of me.”
How do we know it was middle-aged man? Middle-aged men on Facebook have been known to pose as 14-year-old girls.
…I wasn’t surprised that a vulnerable teenager, Ashleigh Hall, was groomed on Facebook before being brutally raped and killed.
Posted: 26th, March 2012 | In: Key Posts, Scare Stories, Technology | Comment | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
The Killer Shisha tobacco scaremongering blows up in smoke
HOW dangerous are shisha pipes? As No Smoking Day looms, a barage of press releases have gone out wanting that shihsa smoke is a killer.
The Daily Mail is informative:
How an hour spent smoking trendy shisha pipes is as harmful as a HUNDRED cigarettes
Non-trendy ones are just as dangerous. In Singapore, Yahoo says:
Shisha: 200 times more harmful than cigarettes?
The Mail goes on:
But the World Health Organisation has warned that a one-hour shisha session can be as harmful as smoking 100 cigarettes.
Posted: 22nd, March 2012 | In: Key Posts, Scare Stories, The Consumer | Comment (1) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Win a mousetrap game, and see how the sneaky pests get in your home
Here at Anorak we like a bit of science, so we thought we’d show you this. It is a new vid from Rentokil which shows you how smart mice are and how they can get in your home.
If you think that gap under your door is too tiny for the scurrying mouse in hunt for food? Think again. A mouse can easily squeeze through holes the width of a pencil. Check this out
If you have got mice in your house go here for more information.
There’s even a cool Scamper Mouse video game on Facebook where you can experience what it’s like to be a house mouse. Rentokil are giving away a Mousetrap board game to the first 100 people to find the hidden Mousetrap game (UK residents only) on Facebook. You can also follow @scampermouse on Twitter and look out for #MouseMonday prizes.
Posted: 21st, March 2012 | In: Scare Stories | Comment | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
The Solar flare kills every Daily Mail reader
A SOLAR flare or two have blasted from the sun. Says the Daily Mail:
‘It’s hitting us right in the nose’: Largest solar flare in six years to hit Earth today – and could ‘jolt’ everything from flights and GPS systems to entire power grids
The BBC:
Joseph Kunches, a scientist with US weather agency Noaa… ”all told, it’s not a terribly strong event”.
Posted: 8th, March 2012 | In: Scare Stories | Comments (3) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Daily Mail says nutritionists it promotes put health at risk – massive fail
HEALTH Tuesday – the Daily Mail’s weekly look at new ways to die features an article on nutritionists by Louise Atkinson:
EXPOSED: The nutrition therapists who puts your health at risk.
Louise Atkinson has news:
The therapist peered at my tongue. ‘Should I be worried about bowel cancer?’ I asked her. I’d told her about my changed bowel habits over the past six months, weight loss, fatigue and dark stools.
Louis is talking shit – literally.
Last month an alarming report by the consumer organisation Which? highlighted the risks posed by rogue nutritionists. All are classic symptoms of bowel cancer that, to a GP, would flag up the need for further investigation. I’d even mentioned that my father had died of the disease.
But the therapist seemed unconcerned: ‘Oh, you don’t need to worry about having cancer,’ she said. ‘I can tell you’re quite well. You’d be much better off thinking about changes you can make to your diet to help you prevent cancer.’ She recommended I cut out sugar (‘because cancers feed on sugar’) to reduce my risk.
Posted: 23rd, February 2012 | In: Key Posts, Scare Stories | Comment (1) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
The Daily Mail’s Busty Brunettes exposed by technical glitch
LAST Saturday the Daily Mail had a “investigation” into how easy it is for “your child” to get into “dialling up porn”.
Paul Bracchi had chilling news:
Busty Brunettes is a pornographic video starring glamour models Lucy Pinder and Rosie Jones [catch Pinder here]. ‘They will make you drool,’ anyone about to witness the girls in action is ‘warned’. Wearing only striped shorts and ankle socks, they do their utmost to live up to the billing: posing provocatively, pouting, and playing with each other’s breasts. The performance, lasting three minutes, might seem tame compared with some of the material widely available on the internet or on satellite TV.
See here. Bracchi is not here to titillate. He is her to pose questions:
“But, if you are a parent, ask yourself: ‘Would you be happy for, say, your ten-year-old son to watch Lucy and Rosie fondle each other?”
Posted: 14th, February 2012 | In: Scare Stories | Comment | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
An apple a day gives you diabetes – ban fructose before we all die
THE latest from the foods idiots is that we’ve an epidemic of diseases being caused by our consumption of sugar. And not just any kind of sugar, no, it’s a special kind of sugar that’s killing us all.
Last week, a trio of American scientists led by Robert Lustig, professor of clinical paediatrics at the University of California, published an article in the journal Nature, outlining the toxic effects that sugar has on humans and arguing for governmental controls on its sale and distribution. While the authors come short of labelling sugar a “poison” outright, in a 2007 interview with ABC Radio about excess sugar consumption, Lustig said: “We’re being poisoned to death. That’s a very strong statement, but I think we can back it up with very clear scientific evidence.”
That evidence has been growing – particularly in the western world, where consumption of sugar is increasing rapidly. Globally, sugar consumption has tripled in the past 50 years. But, it turns out, the greatest threat to human health is one type of sugar in particular: fructose.
Posted: 14th, February 2012 | In: Scare Stories | Comments (4) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
The Daily Express and weather reporting
THE Daily Express loves weather. It’s often on the paper’s front page. It’s almost as if with no Madeleine McCann (f1) or Princess Diana stories F2), the News Bot presses f3 on the keyboard. Today’s headline declares as bald fact:
“Freezing Weather Will Kill”
Nathan Rao licks his finger and sticks it to the wind:
Health chiefs issued a nationwide alert yesterday warning of a killer freeze on the way.
The killer freeze is soon given a nickname, like serial killers get:
Dubbed the “Beast from the East”, the weather system is set to roar in from Siberia bringing widespread snow and freezing temperatures.
Who will die?
Older people in particular were warned to take extra care to keep warm as night-time temperatures are expected to plunge as low as -9C (16F), sending death rates soaring.
Posted: 28th, January 2012 | In: Key Posts, Scare Stories | Comment | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Daily Mail scare stories of the week: death by a single sausage
SCARE Stories: It’s the Daily Mail – the paper that seeks out news way to die every day:
Monday:
Page 3: ” Rise in elderly addicted to drink”
Page 3: ” Have at least two alcohol free days, says MPs”
(This is followed by Thursday’s news: “Cheers! How a few drinks relese the feelgood factor in our brains”)
Page 13: “The concrete cancer that is crippling our roads” – Even roads get cancer in the Mail.
Page 19: “Is Peppa Pig making toddlers naughty?”
Page 41: “I lived for 20 yars knowing my mother would kill herself”
Posted: 13th, January 2012 | In: Scare Stories | Comment (1) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Warning: do not eat your Eden Project Jequirity bean jewellery
YOUR Eden Project bracelet is poisonous. It contains a “highly toxic seed”.
The Mail says the red and black bracelets sold at the Cornwall Eden Project and 35 other retailers are toxic. Those Jequirity beans contain abrin, “a controlled substance under the Terrorism Act”.
Know that, just 3 micrograms of the stuff is enough to kill a man, if swallowed. The Mail adds:
The symptoms of poisoning are acute gastroenteritis with vomiting, diarrhoea, shock and potentially fatal kidney failure…People who have bought the bracelets are being urged to bag them and then wash their hands and avoid touching their eyes. They are being offered refunds by the stores.
The Eden Project tells visitors to its website:
“We have been advised that in an extreme case, if these seeds are chewed or ingested, it is very dangerous and potentially lethal…. However, seeds are not expected to cause serious problems if swallowed whole and not chewed. There may be a delay of up to three days before symptoms occur. Anyone who is suspected of ingesting seeds from this plant should seek medical advice immediately.”
Posted: 24th, December 2011 | In: Scare Stories | Comment | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
A Daily Mail Christmas: Mad Friday, Panic Saturday and Chaos Sunday
THE Daily Mail Christmas features Mad Friday, Panic SAturday, Chaos Sunday…and to follows: Manic Monday, Tuesday Tuesday, Woeful Wednesday and Everyone dead by Teamtime Thursday…
Posted: 18th, December 2011 | In: Scare Stories | Comment (1) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Plastic Surgeon Warns: Smoking Makes Your Nipples Fall Off
DR Anthony Youn says smoking can make your nipples fall off.
Youn, a plastic surgeon in Detroit, says the chemicals in a cigarette can damage your extremities after a boob job:
“The toxins act as a virtual tourniquet. If the blood flow to a particular body part becomes greatly reduced or halted, that body part dies. I cringe every time I see a patient for a breast lift who is a smoker. I’m deathly afraid that despite my warnings, she will smoke before or after surgery and cause her nipples to turn black and fall off.”
Anorak has one bit of advice: cross stitching.
Posted: 6th, December 2011 | In: Scare Stories | Comment | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Flesh-Eating Bananas Strike Mozambique
REPORTS of flesh-eating bananas in Mozambique overstate the problem.
According to the official statement:
“From the work conducted by the Ministries of Agriculture, Health and Trade and Industry, it was concluded that there is no record of entry of any infected banana in the country.”
Posted: 4th, December 2011 | In: Scare Stories | Comment | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Teenage Sex Makes You A Depressed Adult
HAVING sex too young makes a you depressed when older. Why. we’re not sure.It might be something to do with not being able to perform like you did in your pomp.
Live Science reports on a new study on hamsters.
Teen Sex May Affect Brain Development, Study Suggests
Boffins at Ohio State University College of Medicine have been watching adolescent hamsters mating. Oh Brave New World:
John Morris, a doctoral student in psychology at Ohio State, says:
“Having a sexual experience during this time point, early in life, is not without consequence.”
Posted: 2nd, December 2011 | In: Scare Stories | Comment | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Daily Mail Health Tuesday: Your Asthma Is A Killer Lung Disease
DAILY Mail Health Tuesday: More ways to get ill and die…
Page 7: “Children from middle-class backgrounds are just as likely to be spending too long in front of TV screens as those from poorer homes…”
Page: 11: “1 in 4 patients say their local hospital is not up to standard”
This might be encouraging news. Three is four say it is…
Page 13: “Headers do injure brain”
Posted: 29th, November 2011 | In: Scare Stories | Comment | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Daily Mail Apologises For Blaming Cancer On Immigrants And Attractive Women
THE Daily Mail has apologised for saying that immigrants give you cancer and slamming attractive young women for being slappers and older women for being old … Well, maybe not. Someone might have just made it up...
Spotter: B3ta, via @jonathanhaynes
Posted: 28th, November 2011 | In: Scare Stories | Comment | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Daily Mail Health Tuesday: Death By Frozen Bread
IT’S Health Tuesday in the Daily Mail – more news ways to fall ill and die!
“Obesity. Bloating. Bowel problems. Headaches….SHOULD YOU STOP EATING BREAD?”
This includes section headlined:
Your brains is hooked on bread
The modern loaf we can’t stomach
Exotic holidays make things worse
Why freezing a loaf can be bad for your tum
Posted: 22nd, November 2011 | In: Scare Stories | Comments (4) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
The Daily Express Sees Siberia And The Arctic In Ice-Broken Britain
JUST as the Daily Mail loves bad health scares, the Daily Express has an obsession with bad weather. Nathan Roe pounds the snowy beat:
Britain is braced for an Arctic blast which will bring record low temperatures within weeks, forecasters said last night… Britain is likely to be hit by temperatures as low as minus 20C – perhaps even lower – and widespread heavy snow as early as the start of next month. - Daily Express, 8 October 2011
Still waiting:
Britain faces a sudden shivering end to the exceptionally warm late autumn with temperatures plunging towards Siberian levels. Winter weather will arrive with a vengeance with temperatures well below zero within the next fortnight. – Daily Express, 2 November 2011
Posted: 16th, November 2011 | In: Scare Stories | Comment | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
Daily Mail: Tea Gives You Cancer And Cervical Cancer Jab Turns You Into A Zombie
IT’S Health Tuesday In The Daily Mail: New ways to fall ill and die this week:
Front cover: “Downside of losing weight that no one tells you about. The answer: “distressing skin problems”
Page 41: “My stoke was a migraine that lasted TWO years”
Page 19: “Too much TV can cause depression”
Page 20: “Contraceptive pill linked to the rise in case of prostate cancer”
Page 27: “Bulimia, Woody and me – In a self-lacerating memoir, Diane Keaton reveals the eating disorder that blighted her affair with Woody Allen – and how doomed flings with Beatty and Pacino left her loveless and alone”
Or to put a positive spin on it: I shagged Beattie and Pacino, and had a brilliant Hollywood career, by Diane Keaton
Page 29: “GIRL OF 13 SLEEPING FOR 23 HOURS A DAY AFTER REACTION TO CERVICAL CANCER JAB”
Posted: 15th, November 2011 | In: Scare Stories | Comment | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
SCARE Story of The Day: The Cervarix vaccine. The Daily Mail’s Lauren Paxman has news of Lucy Hinks:
Lucy Hinks is unable to walk or talk after having injections at school
Parents warn others to check on potential side effects of Cervarix vaccine
The statements are delivered as fact:
Girl, 13, left in ‘waking coma’ and sleeps for 23 hours a day after severe reaction to cervical cancer jabs
The news is clear: the jabs have made Lucy Hinks ill. Only, they might not have.
You might suppose Paxman is the victim of the Mail’s sub-editors, for whom everything is bad. But she states:
A schoolgirl has been left in a ‘waking coma’, too exhausted to open her eyes or speak, after having a cervical cancer vaccine.
Posted: 14th, November 2011 | In: Key Posts, Scare Stories | Comments (6) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed:RSS 2.0
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