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http://www.cnbc.com/2015/08/24/caitlyn-jenner-halloween-costume-sparks-social-media-outrage-.html

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ne...een-costume-labeled-817515?utm_source=twitter

It's nowhere near October, but one ensemble is already on track to be named the most controversial Halloween costume of 2015.

Social media users were out in full force on Monday criticizing several Halloween retailers for offering a Caitlyn Jenner costume reminiscent of the former-athlete's Vanity Fair cover earlier this year.

While Jenner's supporters condemned the costume as "transphobic" and "disgusting" on Twitter, Spirit Halloween, a retailer that carries the costume, defended the getup.

"At Spirit Halloween, we create a wide range of costumes that are often based upon celebrities, public figures, heroes and superheroes," said Lisa Barr, senior director of marking at Spirit Halloween. "We feel that Caitlyn Jenner is all of the above and that she should be celebrated. The Caitlyn Jenner costume reflects just that."
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Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee claims that a breakthrough new method of cell therapy can cure certain types of cancer once thought untreatable. He takes Vikram Chandra through how this new cure works, and what are the chances it’ll become a new miracle for those affected by the deadly disease.
 
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www.upi.com

Look: Arkansas refuge caring for serval that spent 6 months on the loose in Missouri - UPI.com

A wildlife refuge in Arkansas said an African serval cat on the loose in Missouri for at least six months has been safely captured on a farm and will have a new home at the refuge.
www.upi.com www.upi.com
archive.ph

Look: Arkansas refuge caring for serval that spent 6 months on the lo…

archived 29 Jan 2023 02:41:50 UTC
archive.ph archive.ph


Arkansas refuge caring for serval that spent 6 months on the loose in Missouri

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An African serval captured after at least six months on the loose in Missouri is receiving veterinary care for multiple ailments at a wildlife refuge in Arkansas.

Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge said the serval, a female believed to be about 5 years old, had been spotted wandering loose in Missouri on multiple occasions over the course of six months.


The serval was trapped on an Ava, Mo., farm, and Missouri Game and Fish officials contacted the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge about giving the African cat a new home.

Cheryl King, marketing director for the refuge, said the serval is now being treated for multiple health issues.

"She was severely anemic, largely due to an infestation of fleas. Her front right paw had a badly infected toe. The toe had a puncture wound on the bottom and infection had set in with swelling spreading to the toes alongside the injury," King said in an email to UPI.

King said the serval's tail was also injured as a result of suspected frostbite and about an inch had to be surgically removed.

"All of this has now been treated and she's being kept under observation in quarantine at our onsite vet hospital," King wrote.


Officials said the serval was likely an exotic pet that escaped or was abandoned by its owner. The cats are common as exotic pets and are used to breed Savannah cats, a hybrid of a serval and a domestic feline.

"It was amazing that this young serval could survive six months like she has, but she obviously was successful by the amount of bird feathers we found onsite. The skilled huntress had obviously been bringing her kills back to her adopted 'den' to consume them in safety," refuge president Tanya Smith said in a news release.
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Not an article but this ad popped up for me a few minutes ago:
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Well no fucking shit you see the worst cases of covid in the ICU. Thats literally how the ICU works. You see the worst cases of flu causing serious issues with seniors and aids patients in there too, it has absolutely nothing to do with anything. Imagine going on record with your name and face and saying that stupid to try to get people to get a covid booster shot. Makes me wonder how she got into medical school at all
 
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WonderWino said:
Well no fucking shit you see the worst cases of covid in the ICU. Thats literally how the ICU works. You see the worst cases of flu causing serious issues with seniors and aids patients in there too, it has absolutely nothing to do with anything.
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Never go into a hospice. People DIE there. Never see an oncologist. Did you know all their patients have CANCER?
 
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WonderWino said:
Not an article but this ad popped up for me a few minutes ago:
View attachment 4372120
Well no fucking shit you see the worst cases of covid in the ICU. Thats literally how the ICU works. You see the worst cases of flu causing serious issues with seniors and aids patients in there too, it has absolutely nothing to do with anything. Imagine going on record with your name and face and saying that stupid to try to get people to get a covid booster shot. Makes me wonder how she got into medical school at all
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Reminds me of:
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Fun fact, this image was fact-checked and this retardation was their takeaway:
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Japanese nationals suspected to be behind a string of robberies in Japan may have run criminal enterprises while detained at the Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI), the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Tuesday.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla told reporters that this is “very possible” after BI authorities found that the suspects have been illegally keeping several phones inside the detention facility. One of them even had six mobile phones, he said.

The DOJ chief has directed the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to probe the matter, but he added that they will also cooperate with the Japanese government if it launches its own investigation. Both the BI and the NBI are agencies under the Justice department.

Remulla also gave assurance that BI officials found to be involved in the illegal use of communication equipment will be held liable.

“This reeks of corruption and the people who are responsible for the behavior of all the people under detention will be dealt with severely once proven that they did not do their jobs in ensuring that the use of communication tools are only tolerated or only used for lawyers or family calls,” he said.

“It’s a very serious breach of discipline within the ranks of the Bureau of Immigration, and this will be dealt with very severely,” Remulla added.
The DOJ on Monday said there are 17 Japanese nationals detained at the BI.

It is not yet clear how many of them were discovered to have been keeping phones. Of the 17, however, the Japanese government wants four deported over robbery cases in Japan.

Among them is the presumed robbery mastermind who goes by the alias “Luffy.”

The Japan Times earlier reported that the alleged leader had been sending instructions via smartphone from an immigration detention center in Manila.

The DOJ said it has yet to ascertain who “Luffy” is among those detained, but Remulla is certain he is one of the four being sought for deportation.

The Justice secretary also explained that the Japanese nationals cannot be extradited yet as they still have pending cases in the Philippines, most of which are for violence against women and children.

“There is a rule that we cannot deport anybody with a pending criminal case in the Philippines,” Remulla told the media. “All of these cases have to be cleared prior to any deportation.”

He said they hope to send two of the suspects back to Japan by the end of the week.

Meanwhile, they intend to finish the deportation of all four before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visits Japan on the second week of February.

“We’re trying to settle the case, to finish these cases prior to the President’s trip so these will not be the focus of media when he goes to Japan, because this will be a distraction,” Remulla said.
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Philippines is deporting Luffy
 
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Gunter Hatherer said:

Former Harvey school worker accused of embezzling $1.5 million through chicken wing orders​

www.cbsnews.com

Former Harvey school worker accused of embezzling $1.5 million through chicken wing orders

Vera Liddell is the former director of food services at Harvey School District 152 in south suburban Harvey.
www.cbsnews.com www.cbsnews.com

Also a short video at link. Sorry no pic of the perp.

Edited to add: I found the mugshot.

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It won't be long before we hear "she dindu nuffin" if we didn't already.

Meanwhile if some kids wants to be alone to Dunkin Donuts, leave the kids alone!

It was Super Bowl Sunday in February 2019. Cynthia Rivers and her husband decided that their kids, ages seven and nine, deserved a long-promised treat for cleaning their rooms: the right to walk to Dunkin' Donuts by themselves. (Reason has changed her name to protect the family's anonymity.)

This was in Killingly, Connecticut, a suburban town in the northeast part of the state. The Rivers' lived near an elementary school, library, state police barracks, sidewalks, crosswalks, many Victorian-style homes, and the aforementioned donut shop. The kids gathered $7, and off they went.

A few minutes later, the River parents heard a knock at the door. It was the police.

The first cop to show up "said he didn't think it was safe for the kids to walk by themselves," Rivers tells Reason. "We told him that while we did feel it was safe, we agreed to not allow them to walk around town unsupervised."
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And Mark Steyn got two heart attacks!
 
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After two Alabama women were arrested, fined and sentenced to jail as well as probation in connection to feeding stray cats in their neighborhood near Montgomery, their attorneys filed a formal appeal seeking a jury trial and are preparing to sue the city.
Beverly Roberts, 85, and her friend, Mary Alston, 60, were arrested in Wetumpka in June and hauled off to jail when police spotted them sitting inside their cars and suspected they were feeding stray cats. Roberts, a retired sergeant major in the U.S. Army, was originally told by authorities last summer to stop feeding cats on public property. The county said at the time that the cats were a nuisance and causing damage to county vehicles.
The police officer who pulled Roberts from her car during her more recent arrest told the grandmother she was being taken into custody "because you have been trespassed, and you have returned yet again."
"We're going to have to take you to jail, OK?" the cop said.
"Jesus Christ," Roberts replied. "This is what you're wasting city gas on."

Both Roberts and Alston — who was similarly dragged from her vehicle by law enforcement when she was arrested, as police body camera footage shows — were feeding the cats as part of a practice called "TNR." The acronym stands for trap, neuter and release, and is intended to reduce feral populations.
Steve Tears, who heads Montgomery's Humane Society, an animal welfare and protection organization, does not believe TNR is actually a public nuisance, and said that Roberts and Alston should be commended for their actions.
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AnOminous said:
Burning down local businesses is mostly peaceful.

Feeding cats is something an 85 year old woman should go to jail for.

Welcome to Clown World, current year since 2016.
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The entire ordinance is to prevent the explosive spread of stray cats, but these women were literally trapping stray to have them spayed/neutered.
 
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I guess Lori Lightfoot will keep ignoring that detail.

February 1, 2023

Lightfoot’s soft-on-crime approach comes back to haunt her​

By Michael A. Letts

As the Chicago mayoral primary election approaches in April, the candidates are looking to defeat incumbent mayor Lori Lightfoot. They have apparently found her Achilles heel… crime.
Chicago Police statistics aren’t something Lightfoot can trumpet as a success. During her time in office, crime is up 19 percent in the city. Murders have increased 20 percent since 2018, and shootings are up 19 percent. Motor vehicle thefts saw the largest increase of 114 percent.
While some categories decreased, such criminal sexual assaults (down 4 percent), it’s not enough to improve the city’s violent image, especially among its residents.
With eight candidates running to unseat Lightfoot, they have all noticed public safety is not something Lightfoot can tout, while it is of great concern to citizens.
Lightfoot is aware of her problem. In January, she broke ground on a $170 million public safety center on the city's west side. She said she wanted to make Chicago one of the safest cities in the nation.
"All of us here in city government and beyond are working together every day to make sure that the city of Chicago is the safest big city in the nation," Lightfoot said.
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Current year urban politicians such as Mayor Beetlejuice are not "soft on crime".
They are actively in favor of it, because it tends to drive away people who will not vote for them.
They are OK with collateral damage among their constituents.
 
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China Man Loses Part of Penis After Leaving Metal Ring Attached for Six Months​

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China’s citizens have not let up when it comes to causing self-inflicted penis-based injuries as this time an old man lost part of his penis after being unable to take off a metal ring that was on it for six months, and sure to have many wondering why he waited so long to get it removed.
The 2cm thick ring was placed at the base of his male appendage yet became stuck and the old man was unable to free it. Apparently thinking it not that big of a deal, the victim left the fashionable item on his member for six months before requesting aid.
After experiencing “intense pain” caused by his ring, the old man gave in and sought a doctor.
Surgeons logging the incident noted the man’s penis was overly swollen and that ulcers could be seen on the surrounding skin. Despite this, the man oddly had no problem voiding his bladder.
Surgeons attempted to remove the metal ring with standard tools but were unsuccessful, eventually asking the fire brigade to borrow their equipment, such as the heavy wire cutter.
Even with such tools at their disposal, surgeons struggled in their endeavor, but eventually they sliced through the pleasure device using a circular saw.
Due to the great amount of heat produced by the saw, the old man’s penis had to be sprayed with water occasionally to help it maintain lower temperatures.
Dead tissue was discovered at the root of the man’s penis from the absence of blood flow, leading to doctors removing the chunk of flesh and sure to have the victim learning quite the lesson.
Staying at a hospital for seven days, the swelling of the man’s member went down and he was prescribed additional antibiotics, and two months later his wound had mended.

 
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And the chaser

Chinese Scientists Develop “Bionic Penis” for Impotent Males​

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Scientists have developed an artificial tissue that successfully restored penile function in pigs and shows promise to one day be used on humans.
The 'bionic penis' effectively mimics a fibrous sheath of tissue that is necessary to maintain erections, called tunica albuginea, which pumps blood to the penis.
About half of men between the ages of 40 and 70 reportedly experience some form of erectile dysfunction, while an estimated five per cent suffer from Peyronie's disease, which is thought to occur as a result of injury from sex.

Experts at the South China University of Technology in Guangzhou, China said the pigs involved in their study regained normal erection function with the help of the artificial tunica albuginea (ATA).

'We largely foresaw the problems and results of the ATA construction process, but we were still surprised by the results in the animal experiments, where the penis regained normal erection immediately after the use of ATA,' said study author Xuetao Shi, a researcher at the South China University of Technology.

'The greatest advantage of the ATA we report is that it achieves tissue-like functions by mimicking the microstructure of natural tissues.

'This design approach is not limited to the biomimetic design of tunica albuginea tissues but can be extended to many other load-bearing tissues.'

Shi said his team's research had now turned to solving issues with male reproductive health, including erectile dysfunction, infertility, and Peyronie's disease, a connective tissue disorder where scar tissue forms in the tunica albuginea, causing pain.

While many previous studies have focused on repairing the urethra, Shi said that less research had looked at restoring erectile function.
However, it is not the first time that researchers have tried to fix damaged tunica albuginea tissue.

The difference is that in the past, studies have looked at making patches from other tissues in a patient's body, but the problem with this is their immune system often rejects them or complications occur.

Because their microstructures are different from that of natural tunica albuginea, it is also difficult for these patches to replace the natural tissue effectively.
To address this issue, the South China University of Technology researchers developed ATA based on polyvinyl alcohol, which has a curled fibre structure similar to that of the natural tissue.

As a result, the artificial material has biomechanical properties that mimic those of tunica albuginea.
The first thing researchers had to do was establish whether the synthetic material was toxic to any other tissues in the human body, as it is designed to remain in the body for a long time, and found that it should not be harmful.

They then tested the ATA in miniature pigs with injuries to their tunica albuginea.

The scientists found that patches made from the artificial tissue restored erectile function to such an extent that it was almost the equivalent of normal penile tissue.

They then analysed the artificial tissue a month on and found that it helped to achieve a normal erection after the penis was injected with saline.

'The results one month after the procedure showed that the ATA group achieved good, though not perfect, repair results,' said Shi.
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An entry from the Journal of Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics is prompting outrage from women on social media after theorizing that the bodies of vegetative or braindead female patients could be utilized as “whole body gestational” surrogates.

The article, originally published in November of 2022, is titled Whole Body Gestational Donation, and floats the concept of utilizing vegetative women’s entire bodies as surrogates for “prospective parents who wish to have children but cannot, or prefer not to, gestate.”

Written by Anna Smajdor, a Professor of Practical Philosophy at the University of Oslo, Norway, the article proposes that it may be viable to utilize the donated bodies of women for gestational purposes in the same manner as donated organs are used.

“I suggest if we are happy to accept organ donation in general, the issues raised by whole-body gestational donation are differences of degree rather than substantive new concerns,” Smajdor writes in her abstract.

“As with many surrogacy arrangements, commissioning parents may prefer to create an embryo for implantation using their own gametes or those of donors. Thus, impregnation could be a surgical affair, preceded and followed by appropriate hormonal therapy to ensure maximal chance of success.”

Referencing previous theories by Israeli medical professor Rosalie Ber, Smajdor considers that the bodies of female patients in persistent vegetative states (PVS), or those who have experienced brain death, could be used as “whole body” incubators for surrogate children.

“[Ber] proposed that female patients in a persistent vegetative state who had given prior written consent, could function as surrogates: embryos would be placed in the woman’s uterus and gestated to term,” Smajdor says.

PVS is a state where patients exhibit no signs of perception and communication or awareness of self. Because the brainstem is not impacted, those in PVS may still be able to breathe on their own and demonstrate some forms of consciousness, including opening their eyes, experiencing sleep-wake cycles, or making facial expressions. Patients may recover from a vegetative state, but it is classified as persistent or permanent after a window of time has passed.

Brain death, however, is the loss of all neurologic functions following a serious trauma or injury. According to the National Kidney Foundation, patients diagnosed as braindead have no brain reflexes and are unable to breathe on their own. Brain death is considered “legal” death.

In Smajdor’s theory, the women impacted by PVS or brain death would be kept functionally “alive” as long as they are gestating, but she compares this to traditional organ donation.

“Prolonging ventilation and somatic survival in brain-dead patients is undoubtedly a disturbing prospect. [Whole body gestational donation] involves treating the patient’s dead body as a means to an end, rather than as an end in itself. The patient moves from being the focus of medical concern, to being a repository of tissues that can be used to benefit others. The prolongation of the ventilation period exacerbates our awareness of this,” she writes. “Yet this is already a part of our organ donation process. Organ donors are almost invariably patients who are already being ventilated, as part of their medical treatment. If the patient is deemed to be a suitable organ donor, ventilation will be continued along with other interventions to ensure that the organs will be maintained for transplant in optimal condition. Thus, we already prolong ventilation in order to facilitate organ donation.”

Smajdor similarly theorizes that the bodies of braindead males could potentially be used to gestate surrogate embryos as well.

“I suggest that brain stem dead men would also have the potential to gestate, meaning that the pool of potential donors is further increased – and that certain feminist concerns might thus be assuaged … The prospect of male pregnancy is not, as many would imagine, fanciful, or a piece of science fiction,” Smajdor says, adding that “the liver is a promising implantation site, because of its excellent blood supply.”

Smajdor concludes the article by claiming that the concepts outlined in her journal entry could only be seen as “outrageous” if traditional cadaveric organ donation process is also called into question.

The entry has caused an uproar on social media, especially amongst women’s rights advocates who already challenge the ethical implications of surrogacy.

Tom Farr, a UK-based lawyer who specializes in combatting sexual exploitation, called the theory “horrifying, dystopian, and signifying as total societal moral collapse.”

This is not Anna Smajdor’s first foray into medical ethics controversy.

In 2013, Smajdor came to international attention after she argued that “compassion” was not a necessary component of healthcare.

“One can remove an appendix without caring about the person it is taken from, empty a bedpan without caring about the patient who has filled it, or provide food without caring about the person who will eat it,” Smajdor said. “Unless we regard healthcare professionals as saints, we cannot demand that they guarantee an unlimited flow of compassion for each patient. Indeed, it is not only unfair, but dangerous to do so.”

The year prior, she had proposed an “artificial wombs” theory which would see babies gestated in mechanical environments in order to advance “equality.”
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I'm skeptical of that concept. Even if you look past the ethical concerns, brain-dead people are often pumped full of all kinds of drugs to keep them semi-functional, because a lot of what keeps the body alive is directed by the brain (which is dead). I believe brain-dead people have given birth, but I'm not sure of the usual outcome or whether they're more likely to have complications.
 
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