Dvorak News Blog

World’s First Ever Undersea Restaurant – Ithaa

By John C Dvorak Friday November 27, 2009

World’s First Ever Undersea Restaurant – Ithaa FYI.

The world’s first ever undersea restaurant called Ithaa (which translate as “pearl” in the natives’ language in Maldives, Dhivehi) brought to you by Hilton Maldives Resort & Spa. This undersea restaurant cost less than $5 million and is part of a project to rebuilt the Rangalifinolhu Island into a tourist attraction.

Nurse Charged with Raping Anesthetized Patients

By McCullough Friday November 27, 2009

14 Comments

ATLANTA — A metro Atlanta nurse anesthetist has been charged with molesting and sodomizing anesthetized patients in dental and medical offices, and police say the videotaped abuses could involve 100 or more victims.

Paul Patrick Serdula, 47, who worked in dental and medical offices across metro Atlanta, was arrested Monday night on child molestation and sodomy charges. The arrest came after authorities found several videos showing him fondling and groping people who were under anesthesia at various offices, said Cobb County police officer Joe Hernandez.

Dvorak Poll: How Should We Pay For The Troop Increase In Afghanistan?

By Uncle Dave Friday November 27, 2009

40 Comments

War is expensive, and it’s about to get more so if the U.S. government escalates its military efforts in Afghanistan. […]Over the past eight years, the nearly $1 trillion cost of the military’s efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan was essentially charged to the national credit card.

Will it be different this time?

There’s some chance lawmakers may opt to pay the bill as it comes due, rather than letting the balance and interest accrue. It’s not the first time the idea has come up, but it may be the first time the idea is given serious consideration.

A big part of the context for deciding whether and how to pay for a buildup are the growing deficits that have become a political and financial albatross. The country’s accumulated debt is expected to rise from $12 trillion today to $21 trillion by the end of 2019.

Some lawmakers are pushing for a war tax. Peter Orszag, the White House budget director, took part in the latest war council meeting. And Obama is expected to raise the cost issue in his Tuesday evening address at West Point.

No Agenda: Turkeys Going Rogue

By John C Dvorak Friday November 27, 2009

9 Comments

Click ► to play.

Direct Link to the show.

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Video – Robotic Humper

By Gasparrini Friday November 27, 2009

8 Comments

This robot is an equal opportunity humper.
Domo arigato, Mr Roboto? ¶

Should The State Pay For Imprisoned Tranny To Get Electrolysis? Or A Sex Change?

By Uncle Dave Friday November 27, 2009

17 Comments

I wonder if this would be covered under Obama’s health care plan if he/she were not in prison. Is there such a thing as medically necessary electrolysis? Would a sex change be covered? I assume as wards of the state, prisoners will be exempt from paying premiums. With inclusions and exclusions like this, no wonder the thing is over 1000 pages.

Convicted wife-killer Robert “Michelle” Kosilek was rebuffed again in his battle to force state prison honchos to give him electrolysis treatments, but a federal judge left the door open to the transgender con getting taxpayer-funded hair removal procedures.
[…]
The 60-year-old inmate had previously received seven DOC-approved electrolysis treatments at a cost of $500 each. His lawyers had argued the treatments were medically necessary.
[…]
Despite the legal victory for prison officials, [attorney] Wolf criticized the DOC for its decision to stop electrolysis treatments for Kosilek, formerly of Mansfield, who lives as a woman at the all-male prison, MCI-Norfolk.

Wolf said the move to stop the treatments ran “a grave risk of violating the Eight Amendment,” which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. He warned the decision to stop the treatments did not take into consideration Kosilek’s “unique circumstances” and was not made by a medical professional.

The DOC has said it is willing to give Kosilek razors and depilatories.

Oral arguments on whether the state should pay for Kosilek to undergo a sex change operation were scheduled for Dec. 21.

Sleep Crime: Should You Be Prosecuted For What You Did While Asleep?

By Uncle Dave Friday November 27, 2009

9 Comments

This could become the equivalent of the Twinkie Defense for those who don’t really have sleep issues.

A man strangles his wife while dreaming about fighting off intruders in his sleep. Does that make him mad, bad or innocent? Recent research is helping to unpick these issues, and may help reveal who, if anyone, bears responsibility in such cases.

Last week, British man Brian Thomas appeared in court on a murder charge after strangling his wife as they slept in their camper van. The prosecution withdrew the charges after three psychiatrists testified that locking him up would serve no useful purpose. The judge said that Thomas bore no responsibility for his actions.

The case has cast a spotlight on the use of such sleepwalking defences in court. “If you look at the media reports there appears to be an upsurge in the use of the sleepwalking defence,” says Michel Cramer-Bornemann of the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center in Minneapolis.

Thomas had a genuine sleep disorder, but Cramer-Bornemann is concerned that in many other cases, the sleepwalking and other sleep-related defences are misused. Studies on the causes of sleepwalking may eventually make it easier to identify who has a genuine sleep disorder that could occasionally result in violence, and who is making it up.

Then there’s the whole sleepwalking while taking Ambien problem.

Video – That’s One Way To Light A Bonfire

By Gasparrini Friday November 27, 2009

30 Comments

Iraqi army using dodgy ‘magic wand’ to detect explosives at checkpoints

By honeyman Thursday November 26, 2009

19 Comments

Iraq Swears by Bomb Detector U.S. Sees as Useless – New York Times — It slices! its dices! It detects truffles from three miles away! How much would you pay for this amazing device?

Despite major bombings that have rattled the nation, and fears of rising violence as American troops withdraw, Iraq’s security forces have been relying on a device to detect bombs and weapons that the United States military and technical experts say is useless.
[…]
Still, the Iraqi government has purchased more than 1,500 of the devices, known as the ADE 651, at costs from $16,500 to $60,000 each. Nearly every police checkpoint, and many Iraqi military checkpoints, have one of the devices, which are now normally used in place of physical inspections of vehicles.
[…]
“Whether it’s magic or scientific, what I care about is it detects bombs,” said Maj. Gen. Jehad al-Jabiri, head of the Ministry of the Interior’s General Directorate for Combating Explosives.
[…]
ATSC’s promotional material claims that its device can find guns, ammunition, drugs, truffles, human bodies and even contraband ivory at distances up to a kilometer, underground, through walls, underwater or even from airplanes three miles high. The device works on “electrostatic magnetic ion attraction,” ATSC says.

Last year, the James Randi Educational Foundation, an organization seeking to debunk claims of the paranormal, publicly offered ATSC $1 million if it could pass a scientific test proving that the device could detect explosives. Mr. Randi said no one from the company had taken up the offer.

Weird Cattle Mutilations Continue in Southern Colorado

By McCullough Thursday November 26, 2009

36 Comments

SAN LUIS, Colo. (AP) – A creepy string of calf mutilations in southern Colorado has a rancher and sheriff’s officials mystified.

Four calves were found dead in a pasture just north of the New Mexico state line in recent weeks. The dead calves had their skins peeled back and organs cleared from the rib cage. One calf had its tongue removed. But rancher Manuel Sanchez has found no signs of human attackers, such as footprints or ATV tracks. And there are no signs of an animal attack by a coyote or mountain lion. Usually predators leave pools of blood or drag marks from carrying away the livestock.

Two officers from the Costilla County Sheriff’s Office have investigated the mutilations but say they don’t know what’s killing the calves. “There’s nothing really to go by,” said Sanchez, who’s ranched for nearly 50 years. “I can’t figure it out.” A spokesman for the sheriff’s office told The Pueblo Chieftain that investigators doubt a person butchered the calves because there is no blood at the scene.

“I’ve butchered a cow before and I know what kind of a mess it leaves,” Sgt. James Chavez said.

Some in the area believe the mutilations are the work of aliens. An area UFO chaser, Chuck Zukowski of Colorado Springs, has been to the Costilla County pasture to investigate. He told the paper there have been other unexplained calf mutilations in the area, including three in March. One of the other calves, found dead on a ranch near Trinidad, had its ears removed, Zukowski said.

As far as I’m concerned no one has ever been able to explain this.

Mumbai — one year later

By Eideard Thursday November 26, 2009

8 Comments

Daylife/AP Photo used by permission

Mumbai held tearful memorials and police staged a show of strength on Thursday as India’s financial hub marked the first anniversary of militant raids that killed 166 people and ratcheted up tensions with Pakistan.

While emotionals onlookers waved Indian flags and banners with slogans such as “End The Violence,” police commandoes with new weapons and armored cars tracked the route the 10 gunmen took for an attack that stunned the country.

Other residents lit candles outside a Jewish center, one of several sites from luxury hotels to the city’s biggest railway station, that were targeted by the Pakistan-based militants in a rampage lasting three days.

At the Trident hotel, one of the targets, chefs and laundry boys gathered to remember the attacks. Outside, a black granite column read: “In memory of our guests and our staff.” A wreath of white lilies lay in front next to a glass case with burning candles.

“We just wanted to show our support and show that we care,” said Subir Kumar Singh, who was leaving a written message on a banner outside the Leopold cafe, a popular tourist spot that still has bullet marks from the attacks.

Someday, religions will no longer honor murder.

For Digestion’s Sake, Smoke A Camel Cigarette After Each Thanksgiving Course

By Uncle Dave Thursday November 26, 2009

19 Comments

Click pic to read all about it

The Matrix: Remade

By Uncle Dave Thursday November 26, 2009

2 Comments

Reality TV Wannabee’s Breach White House “Security”… Crash State Dinner… WTF?

By McCullough Thursday November 26, 2009

15 Comments

A couple of aspiring reality-TV stars from Northern Virginia appear to have crashed the White House’s state dinner Tuesday night, penetrating layers of security with no invitation to mingle with the likes of Vice President Biden and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.

Tareq and Michaele Salahi — polo-playing socialites known for a bitter family feud over a Fauquier County winery and their possible roles in the forthcoming “The Real Housewives of Washington” — were seen arriving at the White House and later posted on Facebook photos of themselves with VIPs at the elite gathering. “Honored to be at the White House for the state dinner in honor of India with President Obama and our First Lady!” one of them wrote on their joint Facebook page at 9:08 p.m.

But a White House official said the couple were not invited to the dinner, not included on the official guest list and never seated at a table in the South Lawn tent. While the White House offered no official explanation, it appears to be the first time in modern history that anyone has crashed a White House state dinner. The uninvited guests were in the same room as President Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, although it is unknown whether they met the Obamas and the guest of honor.

“Everyone who enters the White House grounds goes through magnetometers and several other levels of screenings,” said Ed Donovan, a spokesman for the Secret Service. “That was the case with the state dinner last night. No one was under any risk or threat.”

Shhhh! The terrorists might be listening.

Canadian Judge Rules ‘Happy Gilmore Golf Swing’ Illegal

By Uncle Dave Thursday November 26, 2009

15 Comments

A Canadian judge has ruled the “Happy Gilmore” golf swing has “breached the standard of care owed to other players on the course.”

What?!

Justice Arthur J. LeBlanc, in his decision, went on to trash an admittedly nontraditional but heretofore legal swing, that’s been a comic staple since it was made famous by the 1996 Adam Sandler film. In fact, an episode of Sport Science recently tested the effectiveness of it (see video clip below).

“I am convinced that the “Happy Gilmore” shot,” wrote Judge Le Blanc in his decision, “would have been less controllable than a normal tee shot, both because it involved a run-up to the ball (rather than an aimed shot from a stationary position) and because the defendant had been drinking throughout the day.”

Let’s put aside for a moment the question of whether the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia is qualified to rule on the quality of a golf swing. We need to take a closer look at the facts of the case.