Get your invertebrate on at Circus of the Spineless #17.
You’ve probably heard about the Sea Launch rocket incident that happened recently. It was supposed to carry a communication satellite into orbit. It goes without saying that didn’t happen. Now you can see it in this video. It looks as though the rocket begins to collapse before the countdown reaches liftoff.
How very bizarre! “Three young boys grew breast tissue after exposure to lotions and shampoos containing lavender or tea tree oil, researchers say. It is not uncommon for boys to develop breast tissue during puberty or just after, but the boys affected by the plant oils were aged four, seven and 10. The natural oils may be ‘gender-bending’ chemicals mimicking effects of the female hormone, oestrogen, the findings suggest. The boys were otherwise normal, and lost the breast tissue within months of discontinuing use of the products. Researchers who identified the oils as the cause of the abnormalities in the three pre-pubertal boys have warned parents and doctors to beware of the effects of any toiletry products containing the oils.” Again, that is very bizarre.
Oops! America did it again. “Germany has ordered the arrest of 13 suspected CIA agents over the alleged kidnapping of one of its citizens. Munich prosecutors confirmed that the warrants were linked to the case of Khaled al-Masri, a German national of Lebanese descent. Mr Masri says he was seized in Macedonia, flown to a secret prison in Afghanistan and mistreated there. He says he was released in Albania five months later when the Americans realised they had the wrong man.” I assume by “mistreated” he meant “tortured.” That’s our style, you know. And after the kerfuffle with the Canadian citizen apprehended and shipped to Syria for torturing, only to find out he wasn’t a terrorist, do you think Dubya and his cronies will reevaluate this practice? Ha! I made a funny.
If you do nothing else, you must go watch this video. It’s amazing. It’s about a teenage boy who lost both eyes to cancer when he was a toddler. With a mother who encouraged him and supported him and made sure he understood losing one sense didn’t have to change him or how he interacted with the world, he learned—no, he mastered echolocation. Using the same system of “sound sight” that dolphins and bats use, this young man is now capable of doing everything anyone else can do. His skills are amazing, from identifying a water hydrant while walking down the sidewalk to playing video games to having a pillow fight with dead-on aim, he is no different than any other boy his age. It’s phenomenal to watch him in action.