07 Apr
Now that it’s 2008 (yes, I know, it’s April 2008, please feel free to pretend that it’s January, thanks) it’s time to check the handful of predictions for 2007 and see what happened (note that the fact that you’re even reading this probably suggests that the more extreme ones were nonsense, but you knew that anyway didn’t you?).
- Unknown month
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According to Armageddon Online this year will see the “Battle of Armageddon”. This will involve a nuclear war that will leave “2 billion dead”.
NetCynics says Fail!
- August 2007
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According to Juval Aviv “six, seven or eight cities” within the US will be hit “simultaneously to show sophistication and really hit the public“. Apparently “it could happen as soon as tomorrow, or it could happen in the next few months. Ninety days at the most“. So keep an eye out for this one until the end of October.
NetCynics says Fail!
- September 2007
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According to Pat Robertson the Christian God told him that there will be a “mass killing” in the United States of America. He said “The Lord didn’t say nuclear. But I do believe it will be something like that.” so it remains to be seen what, exactly, the attack will be. Keep in mind that for 2006 he predicted that a tsunami would hit the US coastline — it didn’t, but he did claim that heavy rains and flooding in New England in the spring were a partial fulfilment of his prediction.
Observant readers will note that the CNN story link no longer works (big surprise there). NetCynics says Fail!
Also, regarding the Juval Aviv prediction from August: NetCynics says Fail Again!
- October 2007
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Sorry Juval Aviv. NetCynics says Fail Yet Again!
If you have any predictions for 2008 please feel free to let us know and we’ll add them to the 2008 page.
11 Oct
I’m most surprised to read an item by the Daily Mail that actually looks into the advertising of common products and challenges the companies to justify the marketing claims and decisions. Wow.
Researchers name and shame 11 companies for making ‘false health claims’ | the Daily Mail:
31 Jul
Got to love the (lack of) thinking in this e-petition:
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Stop taxing bonuses paid to staff.
Because, of course, no employer would ever think of reducing anyone’s normal pay and then give them a big fat bonus once a year…
15 May
Right out of the “schools are only there to produce a workforce” view of the world is this petition.
The subject of art is wasting the time of academic pupils who could better use the time to study academic subjects.
Because, of course, no “academic” pupil would be the least bit interested in “art”.
Other expressive arts such as Music and PE have academic elements art has none.
Okay, so what exactly do we mean by “art” anyway? And when did PE become an art? What’s are we saying here? That developing an ability to draw is a bad thing? That there’s no academic merit in being able to sculpt something?
So Art wastes the time of students who are gifted.
Even those who are gifted artists?
Art teaches students nothing about life and the skills learnt will have no use in later life inless you decide for a career in art.
Presumably then we’ll need to teach teachers the art of prescience?
I also can’t help but think that the author of that petition needs to acquire the art of writing.
12 Apr
From the Psychic Skeptic:
A psychic can claim to be ‘skeptical’, but can a skeptic be psychic?
Is psychic ability in the eye of the beholder?
These questions arose when I stumbled across a job opportunity for psychics, advertised at careerone.com.au. Job sharing, casual work and second, even third jobs are necessary evils in today’s world. Some replenish stock in supermarkets at night, others telemarket or work behind a bar. Only the very few can earn a few extra dollars as a psychic. That would require a specific skill, wouldn’t it? But what kind of skill? Real psychic ability or cold/warm/hot reading skills and a glib manner?
Read more at the original article, although I think I’ve given the game away with the subject :)
06 Mar
From this petition:
A proposal has been put forward to reduce the number of hours our household pets can roam freely outside.
It has? Where? Who by?
This is clearly a violation of their human rights as they were all once wild animals
I guess I’m being a little slow here because it isn’t clear to me that my cat even has human rights. I might go along with the idea that he has feline rights, perhaps even animal rights, but human rights?
A curfew of 7pm for dogs and 9pm for cats is a ridiculous proposition and we should to [sic] everything we can to prevent this from becoming law.
I do so love the idea that cats can be trusted more than dogs and are rewarded with a later staying-out time.
06 Mar
I think it’s fair to say that the main point of political correctness is a desire not to offend. Wikipedia (the source of all that is good and true) seems to agree with me:
Political correctness (often abbreviated to PC) is a term used to describe language or behavior which is intended, or said to be intended, to provide a minimum of offense, particularly to racial, cultural, or other identity groups.
Which kind of makes this petition quite ironic:
it is time to amend the politically correct census form,i find it offensive that you cannot just enter that you are english or scottish,welsh or northern irish.
Personally I find it offensive that the author can’t spell English correctly.
20 Feb
Finally, now I know where greehouses come from.
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to ban greenhouse-emitting private commuter transport from city centres.
08 Feb
From this petition:
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to ban the practice of docking tails of dogs, even and especially if they have been traditionally docked, and to end all similar forms of mutilation to dogs.
Nice idea. But, correct me if I’m wrong, wasn’t this exact issue covered by The Animal Welfare Act 2006? Okay, the act does have some (very specific) exemptions, but isn’t this pretty much the same thing?
I’m guessing that the author wasn’t keeping up with events, mostly due to them spending far too much time playing games on the internet. Why do I think that? Take a look:
However, it is clearly painful to the puppy, and is purely a cosmetic exercise for the vanity of pwners.
Pwners? 1337!
