Dvorak News Blog

Dude, Where’s My Penis?

By McCullough Wednesday August 24, 2011

Phillip Seaton says his penis was removed during what was supposed to have been a circumcision to treat inflammation four years ago. Dr John Patterson says he amputated because he found life-threatening cancer during the operation.

The Seatons have already sued Jewish Hospital, where the surgery took place. The facility settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.
‘Loss of service’ Mr Seaton and his wife, Deborah, are suing Dr Patterson for damages.

On Monday, Mr Seaton’s lawyer told jurors during opening arguments in the civil case in Shelbyville, Kentucky, that his client no longer felt like a man. The lawyer, Kevin George, said Dr Patterson had never given any indication before the 2007 procedure that Mr Seaton was suffering from cancer. “He’s angry because Dr Patterson took off his penis without asking; without giving him a choice; without giving him the opportunity to check around and talk to other people,”

Clay Robinson, a lawyer for Dr Patterson, said his client had only removed the tip of the penis after he had found cancer. He said another doctor had later removed the rest of the organ.

So does this make him a Setter or a Pointer?

Misplaced Ads In Web Stories

By Uncle Dave Wednesday August 24, 2011

8 Comments

Found by Brother Uncle Don on the Chicago Tribune website

DH Unplugged Podcast
Wild Ride

By John C Dvorak Tuesday August 23, 2011

3 Comments

Here is the latest conversation I had with money manager Andrew Horowitz…. new insights for anyone who invests in anything. Is it time to just think short?
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Washington DC 6.0 Earthquake, Pentagon and Capitol Evacuated

By McCullough Tuesday August 23, 2011

60 Comments

Update at 2:15 p.m. ET: “It scared the heck out of me, I’m still shaking,” said Joan Morris, spokeswoman for the northern district of the Virginia Department of Transportation. A few minutes after the quake, there were no reports of damage to roads or bridges in the state, Morris said.

Update at 2:13 p.m. ET: The USGS now puts the magnitude of the quake at 5.9.

Update at 2:12 p.m. ET: The quake could be felt in McLean, Va., headquarters of USA TODAY. It caused the building to sway. Some items could be heard falling from shelves. A number of employees left the building.

Update at 2:10 p.m. ET: NBC reports that the quake was centered nine miles from Mineral, Va., which is 100 miles south of Washington, D.C.

Says Doug Kammerer, meteorologist with the NBC affiliate in Washington, calls the tremor a “very big earthquake for our area.” The quake struck around 1:15 p.m. ET and lasted for about 30 to 45 seconds. There have been no reports of injuries or widespread damage.

Update at 2p.m. ET: Reuters reports a 6.0 magnitude earthquake centered near Mineral, Va., rocked the mid-Atlantic states and was felt as far north at Manhattan and as far south as North Carolina.

Update at 1:57 p.m. ET:The Associated Press reports that the Pentagon is being evacuated.

Fox news reports that several public buildings, including the Capitol, have been evacuated.

Tasering, Smashing Head Into Curb Multiple Times Not Considered Murder — If You’re A Cop

By Uncle Dave Tuesday August 23, 2011

35 Comments

Click HERE for a very graphic photo of the victim

On July 5, in response to a routine check on a car break-in report, [Fullerton, CA] police confronted Kelly Thomas, 37, near the bus station – a location he often resided. Shortly after, Thomas, who is a diagnosed schizophrenic, was brutally beaten. His face was repeatedly smashed into the curb, flashlights were repeatedly hammered into his skull, he was tasered at least six times as he screamed in terror: “Dad, Dad, Dad”, and then he went unconscious. Thomas died five days later after being taken off life support.

The video of Thomas’ cries for his father have been viewed more than 715,000 times on You Tube.

Earlier last week, Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said that there is no evidence the officers intended to kill Kelly Thomas, but are still in the process of trying to determine if officers used excessive force in his death.
[…]
Witnesses said the beating reminded them of the eerily similar brutality engaged against the protestors in Egypt and Syria.

We train other countries in torture, they teach our police their tactics. Win Win!

Will the fundamentalist Christian crusade against pr0n sex bring us all to purity?

By Eideard Tuesday August 23, 2011

31 Comments

He is a good Christian, Michael is telling his two therapists. He goes to church most Sundays. He’s a devoted husband and father of two daughters.

“But when I would leave on business trips,” he says, “I knew I was going to get to be someone else.”

“Prostitutes, porn – I took anything I wanted…”

Therapists Richard Blankenship and Mark Richardson wear solemn but empathetic expressions. Certified counselors and Christian ministers, they tell him they know how to listen and nod for him to continue.

“I’ve had a record of purity since March when I confessed to my wife,” says Michael, whose name has been changed by CNN.com to protect his privacy. “No porn, no masturbation.”

“Awesome,” Richardson says, leaning forward in his chair. “God knows you’re trying.”

This is Michael’s second week at “Faithful and True – Atlanta” a 16-week counseling program that, like dozens of others like it around the country, combines traditional psychotherapy with the Bible in an attempt to treat addictive behavior…

He says he has helped people achieve what he calls “sobriety,” which means resisting porn and lustful thoughts…

A crusade is born.

And we all know how much Christians love a crusade.

How Ripe Are Your Melons? There’s An App For That!

By Uncle Dave Tuesday August 23, 2011

17 Comments

Ain’t technology great? What’s the weirdest app you’ve got, heard of, wish existed?

As a tech writer, I get pitched a lot of bizarre, head-scratch-inducing apps. But this afternoon, I received what is perhaps the strangest one yet: An app that uses the iPhone’s microphone to detect whether or not a watermelon is ripe when you knock against it.

Yes, it’s a watermelon ripeness detection app, and it is available now in the app store. No, this is not a joke (as far as we can tell, anyway), and yes, it costs $2. Ladies and gentlemen, prepare to knock the ever-loving pulp out of your watermelon while holding your iPhone next to it, because the Melon Meter is here. (Note: Android version not available).

After you’ve downloaded Melon Meter and reexamined your life and very existence, you are ready to use the Melon Meter. The app first takes you into a Melon Meter tutorial before it allows you to use the meter, because God forbid someone use this thing incorrectly.

After 2 years of research and development [editor’s note: Two years?!?!], we have developed a tool that will help you find the most ready to eat melon in the store. This tool, or software algorithm, allows the iPhone to analyze the decay rate (the time it takes for a sound to end) of the signal produced by thumping a melon. We have determined that “ready” melons have a unique “decay signature.” Melon Meter analyzes the sound, and tells you if you have found a melon with the “decay signature” that corresponds to a “ready” melon.

Bloomberg Says No Room for First Responders at 911 Ceremony

By McCullough Monday August 22, 2011

48 Comments

CNN – When debris rained from the sky in lower Manhattan on September 11, 2001, the first responders to the terrorist attack did not turn away. They rushed to the World Trade Center buildings while the world around them crumbled. Yet now, after all the wreckage has been cleared and the rebuilding has begun, their path is again blocked — not by flying chunks of smoldering rubble, but by space constraints.

The first responders are not invited to this year’s September 11 memorial ceremony at ground zero, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office confirmed Monday. It’s a painful insult for many of the approximately 3,000 men and women who risked their lives, limbs and lungs on that monumental day, puncturing another hole in a still searing wound.

In a statement, Bloomberg spokesman Andrew Brent said the commemoration ceremony is for the victims’ families. “While we are again focused on accommodating victims’ family members, given the space constraints, we’re working to find ways to recognize and honor first responders, and other groups, at different places and times,” Brent said.

But first responder John Feal, founder of an advocacy group for the police officers, firefighters, civilian volunteers and others who worked at ground zero, assailed Brent’s response, saying Bloomberg “lives in his own world.” “The best of the best that this country offered 10 years ago are being neglected and denied their rightful place,” Feal said.

Denise Villamia, a first responder who worked at ground zero for several months, cried over the phone as she recalled her “totally heartbroken” reaction to the news that she could not attend the memorial service. “I’m crying because it’s really a big betrayal on the part of the city, to rob me from my way to pay homage and to find that comfort and healing,” she said. “I feel that I have been robbed of my way to pay tribute.”

Space constraints, riiiiight. Does the phrase “No good deed goes unpunished” spring to mind?

Caption These Photos

By McCullough Monday August 22, 2011

22 Comments

Ohio Elections Said to be Rigged

By John C Dvorak Monday August 22, 2011

48 Comments

Finally, someone tells us the real reason why voting machines are not audited. It’s about time someone testified about this. That said, this guy has a few dubious answers.

HP’s Abandoning TouchPad, WebOS Not Going Down Well In The Bunker

By Uncle Dave Sunday August 21, 2011

31 Comments

West Memphis 3 Released after 17 Years

By McCullough Sunday August 21, 2011

28 Comments

After serving 17 years behind bars for the brutal murder of three children in eastern Arkansas, Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr. and Jason Baldwin — dubbed the “West Memphis Three” — have been released from prison. “They will be free men … on suspended sentence,” prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington told reporters during a Friday press conference.

“Only time will tell as to whether this was the right decision.” All three men had been imprisoned since 1994, when they were convicted of killing three 8-year-old boys: Stevie Branch, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers. Prosecutors alleged the trio killed the children in Robin Hood Hills on the morning of May 6, 1993, as part of a satanic ritual. According to police, the boys’ bodies were mutilated and left in a ditch. Each had been hogtied with his own shoelaces.

At the time of their arrests, Baldwin was 16. Misskelley was 17, and Echols was 18. Echols was sentenced to death, Misskelley was sentenced to life imprisonment plus 40 years, and Baldwin was sentenced to life. DNA testing was not available at the time of the defendants’ trials. In 2007, it was found that DNA collected at the crime scene did not match that belonging to any of the three men. In November 2010, the state Supreme Court ruled that all three could present new evidence in court. Experts believe both sides have entered into a complex legal agreement, in which the three men have entered into so-called Alford pleas.

“The plea means that you maintain your innocence but you believe there is a substantial likelihood that a jury will find you guilty so you are pleading guilty per State v. Alford,” Anne Bremner, a Seattle attorney and legal analyst, told The Huffington Post. “The effect of the corresponding finding of guilt by the court is the same as with a straight guilty plea.”

If you are familiar with this case, you might agree that this was long overdue.

No Agenda Show
Bud Nip

By John C Dvorak Sunday August 21, 2011

12 Comments

Executive Producers: E. Adam Attia, Victor Gregg,
Jerry Lenski, Dean Bertram, Paul Groves,
Robin Duerden, Baron Stevean Pelsmaekers, Matthew Stroh
Associate Executive Producer: WWROX
Executive Producers and 332 Club member: Matthew Stroh
333 Club Members: Jerry Lenski, Dean Bertram, Paul Groves, Robin Duerden, Baron Stevean Pelsmaekers
Art By: Thoren

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A Brit’s Eye View of American College Football

By hhopper Sunday August 21, 2011

40 Comments

Where’s Wall-E?

By Eideard Saturday August 20, 2011

49 Comments

Click to enlarge!

A new piece of artwork by Richard Sargent, featuring a huge crowd of robots from movies, television and more. Can you find WALL-E among them?

You might win a signed poster print of Richard’s ‘Where’s WALL-E?’ art! How many characters can you identify? Use the guide picture to name as many as you can. The most correct answers will win a poster. Answers to richard@hopewellstudios.com. Closing date for entries 31st August 2011. Entries will be judged by name and origin of each character; in the event of a tie a winner will be chosen at random.

Thanks, Ursarodinia