Raëlian Topless Alien Sex March

The Raëlians, a religious cult that basically gets you in the door with promises of free sex, then brainwashes you with a bunch of garbage about UFOs and cloning and giving all your money to the church, hosted a "topless rights" parade in Venice Beach today. Here's a short video snapshot I shot on my trusty iContraption. The parade was kind of a letdown, I was expecting more space aliens, or at least something with better art direction, like their Star Wars knockoffs. The premise of the march had something to do with the 14th amendment, and acceptance of the female body as a sacred vehicle for extraterrestrial meat-worship.

Moobs were displayed. Signs were carried. Some women paraded around with nipple-shaped pasties on. That's about it. Just another day in Venice.

Video snapshot: Raëlian Topless Alien Sex March, Venice (Warning: shows some dudes wearing bras, and some women walking around showing off their bewbs)

More: gotopless.org, rael.org.

[Xeni Jardin at BoingBoing.net]

Singing Telsa Coils

DOOMSDAY: The End of Days 2012

Haunted Kentucky Horse Farm For Sale on eBay

I know what you are thinking: everyone dreams of owning a real haunted horse farm! In this tough economy, it’s important to list all your home’s assets. What sets this horse farm apart from all the others is that it is haunted! Because I am telling the truth, I will be more than willing to take a Lie Detector Test at your expense, not mine. This is the real deal. In August, a team of paranormal investigators are scheduled to conduct an investigation.

Yes, I have seen ghosts on more than one occasion on my farm but I think the word ‘ghost’ is a derogatory term. The politically correct name for the formally alive and recently dead is ‘Spirit’! The first time I saw a spirit or ghost I was a bit shaken. Over time, I have gotten used to and enjoyed their frequent visitations! I wish the ghosts would give me the lottery numbers, but so far they haven’t!

Only one privileged person will be lucky enough to purchase this well-maintained turnkey Haunted Horse Farm! This beautiful fully-furnished manufactured-home sits on five-fenced acres, just 18 minutes West of Lexington Kentucky.

Imagine living on a quiet, picturesque, country lane with trees as your neighbors and ghost-watching as your entertainment. Sitting back off the road to capture the view, the newly redecorated three bedroom house is 1150 sq. feet. It has a huge master bath, walk-in-closet, second full-bath, utility room, spacious living room and eat-in-kitchen. There is also a large storage barn, a new 2-stall deluxe horse barn, riding ring, spacious parking area, new pool, security lighting, 2 decks, dog kennel and 3 fenced paddocks. All the gently rolling land on my farm is 100% usable with lush grass.

This farm has been lovingly maintained and is seven years young with only one owner. There is electric heat, satellite TV, side-by-side deluxe fridge, and all GE appliances. Another bonus to buying my farm is the extremely low property and school taxes. I pay under $500 a year in school and property taxes.

Just imagine riding your horse here, watching the sunset from your front porch, swimming in your new pool, cooking out on the grill or seeing a real ghost! I’ve spent many nights in my home writing my paranormal experiences and ghost encounters. I’m in the process of tackling an agent, holding him down, and making him sign me in exchange for his freedom in order to get my series of ghost stories published!

Check out the pictures and visualize living here. All the furniture, decorations, curtains, new vacuum, cookware, tools, mower, dishes, towels, equipment, appliances, 4 televisions, 2 DVD players, stereo, washer and dryer are included!

Sale on owner’s terms. Qualified buyers are welcome to view my farm. A $5000 non-refundable down payment will be put toward the purchase price of the house. Closing on the farm must be within 45 days, or deposit is forfeited. House is in excellent condition, but will be sold as is. You will be responsible for all closing costs. Please contact me with any questions.

Ghosts included but not guaranteed!

I will give the lucky new owner a "Ghost Tour" of the farm once the check has cleared.

For information check our my website at www.luraketch.com

For 31 more pictures of the farm please check out my photobucket album. The link is
http://s987.photobucket.com/albums/ae355/LuraKetch/

Note: Since auctions disappear over time, text posted in full.

Anne Rice Gives Robert Downey Jr. Her Vampire Vote

Just days ago, we were buzzing about a rather startling rumor that Robert Downey Jr. might just put on the cravat and fangs of Anne Rice's Lestat de Lioncourt. The comments were pretty much split down the middle on this one, and for good reason. He's an unlikely pick, but it's not as though you can deny he always turns in a fine performance.

But what does Anne Rice think of all this? Jay Tomio of BSC caught up with the author to get her take on the project and its possible star. As everyone remembers from the days of Tom Cruise's casting, Rice has never been shy about voicing her thoughts when it comes to adaptations of her work. Downey can breathe easy though -- if he does take the part, there will be no advertisements against him, because Rice loves the idea.

[Read More]

Preventing Man-Made Earthquakes

Back in June, the New York Times covered the story of a geothermal power plant in Basel, Switzerland that appear to be responsible for a magnitude 3.4 earthquake in 2006. The quake did some minor damage, and scared the bejesus out of local townsfolk.

If the incident (there have been others, too, as the NYT article noted) is typical of geothermal energy projects, it'll make you wonder whether this form of renewable energy has a future in a post-fossil fuels world?

Scientists argue that it does in a new article published in this week's Eos (sub required). Here's why: let's say geothermal energy causes regular earthquakes, and that a few of them may even be strong ones. We know exactly what we're doing to the rocks beneath Basel or anywhere else; we're injecting them with fluid and extracting heat. And we can get a good idea of how those rocks respond by watching for the small, frequent, and harmless tremors we create.

Using some of the latest in earthquake monitoring technology, researchers believe they can predict when a plant's activity is pushing the rock's toward a big quake. Before things get too dangerous, plant operators can scale back operations, allowing stress in the rocks to be released gradually.

The thought of triggering earthquakes in our search for renewable energy seems pretty terrifying. But every form of 'clean energy' has its risks -- wind turbines catch flak for killing birds and bats, nuclear power plants have exceedingly hazardous waste, even solar energy installations can muck up local ecosystems.

The trick through all of this is going to be bringing impact and risk of damaging quakes down to a minimum. If we can do that, geothermal energy should be around for a long time.

[Discovery.com]

Hobbits walked out of Africa

THE identity of the tiny human-like creature discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2004 has become clearer -- and more astonishing -- thanks to a new analysis by Australian and Indonesian scientists.

According to a team led by Australian National University doctoral student Debbie Argue, not only is Homo floresiensis, nicknamed the hobbit, not a deformed modern human, as a handful of critics claim, but the small-brained, long-armed biped was the first human-like creature to walk out of Africa.

And it did so nearly two million years ago, roughly 100,000 years before a species most scientists believed was the first migrant. That was a somewhat more modern hominin -- a member of a group including humans and their ancestors -- that was discovered in Dmanisi, Republic of Georgia, variously identified as H.georgicus, H. ergaster or H. erectus.

"We're looking at a very archaic being indeed, one that appears to have gone its own evolutionary way long before our species emerged," Ms Argue said.

[Read More]

Even More on the Mongolian Death Worm

Ever heard of the acid-spitting Mongolian death worm? Well, New Zealand TV journalist David Farrier and cameraman Christie Douglas have, and they’re trekking out to the Gobi desert for two weeks to with a gunnysack full of explosives to find it.

Clad in a lilac-hued, tight-fitting cartoon dinosaur T-shirt and square black frames, Farrier explains to hosts of New Zealand’s TV3, “In a way it sounds a bit weird, doesn’t it? When you start talking about the death worm, because people still think I’m not serious, they think this is a big joke. Where as this is sort of a fulfillment of a life-long dream, really, to go to Mongolia to track the death worm down.”

So, what exactly lies in this dapper, utterly-serious lad's future should he find this fabled 5-foot-long, red beast Mongolians have nicknamed the Allghoi Khorkhoi, or "intestine worm”?

“According to Mongolians, it spits concentrated sulfuric acid … so you’ll want to be covering your eyes over if the death worm’s close to you,” Farrier explains. “It’s distance attack, it shoots lightening out of its rectum directly at you.”

Um, right. Not even Zeus could do that.

[Boise Weekly]

Encounter With a Shape Shifter

Phantoms & Monsters has this great post from their mailbag about an "Encounter With a Shape Shifter":

I was with a group of people on Saturday, August 8th in Central Arkansas (out in the country) right before dusk. This area has one lane bridges with gravel roads and no road name signs. Many years ago this had been a Amish community. One of the people I was with had lived there when she was a child. We had returned to the area to go ghost hunting at a cemetery near her old home. None of us are drinkers or drug users and are all middle aged. We belong to a local ghost hunter's club, but this night, we were on our own.

We arrived well before dusk to make sure we had a good feel for our surroundings. I stepped out of the car and walked maybe 6 feet when I heard the sound of something quickly approaching me. It sounded like wings flapping, but not the same. Hard to describe really. It was on a much larger scale than I had heard before. I quickly turned around and saw this thing headed right for me. I was so scared I could not image what I was seeing. I screamed and hit the ground. It flew over my head and landed on the tree limb near me. I looked up and saw it looking down at me, I turned as my friends called my name and was running to me. When I looked back, I couldn't see it. My friends witnessed it as it flew towards me though they didn't see it in the tree.

It didn't look the same in the tree that it had looked while flying toward me. In the tree, it looked more like a large worm or snake but much, much larger. It looked as if it had wrapped it's self around the tree limb. A bird can't do that. I did look to see if there were any other reports like this area, but did not find any documented. I am now afraid to go outside before dusk in fear of seeing another one. I have never been scared ghost hunting. This thing was the most amazing, scariest thing, I have ever seen in my life. I pray I never see it again. Do you have any idea what this thing was? A shape shifter or a Thunderbird maybe? Or a demon? I have no idea.

"UFO The Best Evidence on Tape"

Alien Abductees Tell Their Stories

In a small New England town, members of a support group, which boasts a growing membership of 1,500, gather for a "secret" meeting.

"I wanna let you know that you're not alone," the group leader begins.

Twin sisters Audrey and Debbie, who have asked that their last name and hometown be withheld, have also come a long way to share their experiences.

"It was a long, tiresome battle," Audrey said. "It's impacted my life tremendously. I'm still in therapy."

The group that's assembled for this meeting is not struggling with alcohol, drugs, sex addition or gambling. They're part of Starborn, an alien experience and awareness support group, catering to those who say they've been abducted by aliens.

Many people have wondered: are earthlings living on a speck of dust -- alone in the infinite universe or are there other intelligent life forms out there in the cosmos?

Nearly half of all Americans and millions more globally believe we're not alone, according to a 2000 ABC poll. While 40 million Americans say they have seen or know someone who has seen an unidentified flying object, or UFO, a growing number believe they've actually met aliens.

[ABC News]

Science is powerful, but it cannot explain everything.

Start Here at LiveScience.com

The Human-Dog Hybrid Hoax

Those concerned with cloned and genetically modified animals often ask: Have scientists gone too far? What are the implications of new frontiers in genetics?

One horrific answer appeared recently in a widely-circulated story: "Israeli scientists are examining what appears to be a trans-species between a Labrador retriever and human. While genetically considered impossible, humane workers found remains of an earlier trans-species, believed to be the parent of the animal pictured above, shallow buried in the owner's property. The human parent of the animals is believed to be the teen-aged son of the family well known in politics. DNA studies are in process and results are expected early next month."

It was accompanied by a photo of what appeared to be a strange half-woman, half-dog (or pig) hybrid mother nursing its young. The image has flooded inboxes around the world, accompanied by messages—some satirical, others clearly serious — often suggesting that the image is a horrific warning of the consequences of genetic manipulation (or, perhaps, bestiality).

Of course this hybrid doesn't exist. It's not an actual animal but instead a sculpture by artist Patricia Piccinini, from her 2003 exhibition "We Are Family."

[Read More at LiveScience.com Strange News]

Six Kansas witnesses 'shocked' by low flying black triangle UFO

Six Kansas witnesses near a neighborhood pond first joked about lights in the sky circling around them, but were shocked by the craft's second appearance at close range as they made out "the distinct outline of a very thin triangular shaped black object," according to witness testimony from the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) database.

One of the friends called out to the others to point out a lit object in the distant darkness. They joked about it being a UFO, one snapped a cell phone image of it, and when it disappeared from view they wrote it off as a blimp.

But the object came back about two minutes later - this time brighter and at close range.

The object was hanging just above the tree line behind them and was described as "the size of a small house." The object hovered, they said, and slowly moved directly overhead.

"At this point we could see the distinct outline of a very thin triangular shaped black object. Numerous lights lit up the underneath and a slight hum could be heard, but nothing like an airplane or a jet engine. My friends and I just watched it pass and as we were all in shock, nobody could get out their phone for a closer picture."

After slowly passing overhead, the object increased speed and moved away - disappearing in "the blink of an eye."

The following is the original unedited witness testimony from MUFON. Please keep in mind that most UFO reports can be explained as something natural or manmade. If Kansas MUFON investigates and reports back on any of these cases, I will update this page.

[More UFO News at UFO Examiner.com]

Killer seaslugs invade NZ beaches, killing dogs and wildlife

New Zealand's normally teeming North Island beaches have been emptied after a spate of mystery poisonings left five dogs dead and the bodies of hundreds of fish, dolphins and penguins littering the coastline.

At least two dogs in Auckland, NZ's largest city have been found to have been killed by tetrodotoxin, a poison found in the deadly pufferfish and at least a dozen others have become seriously ill.

More than 1000 fish,penguins and seabirds also washed up dead on beaches around Auckland at the same time dog owners began reporting their pets' illness.

Tetrodotoxin is potentially lethal to humans; ingesting only a small amount can cause paralysis and death within an hour. The substance has killed many a would-be Japanese gourmet who has eaten under-cooked fugu pufferfish, a delicacy in Japan.

The findings have caused widespread alarm, with normally beach-loving Kiwis abandoning the seaside as public health officials warned parents to keep children and animals off the sand.

"This substance is extremely toxic and potentially fatal to humans and animals," said a spokeswoman for Auckland Regional Public Health.

Pufferfish are prolific in NZ waters but scientists have been mystified at the poisonings which have occurred on beaches 40 miles apart although none of the deadly fish have washed ashore.

The most likely culprit appears to be the humble and normally harmless sea slug after tests on a slug found it contained the same toxin found in the vomit of one of the dead dogs.

[Read More via Phantoms & Monsters]

Call for debate on killer robots

An international debate is needed on the use of autonomous military robots, a leading academic has said.

Noel Sharkey of the University of Sheffield said that a push toward more robotic technology used in warfare would put civilian life at grave risk.

Technology capable of distinguishing friend from foe reliably was at least 50 years away, he added.

However, he said that for the first time, US forces mentioned resolving such ethical concerns in their plans.

"Robots that can decide where to kill, who to kill and when to kill is high on all the military agendas," Professor Sharkey said at a meeting in London.

"The problem is that this is all based on artificial intelligence, and the military have a strange view of artificial intelligence based on science fiction."

'Odd way'

Professor Sharkey, a professor of artificial intelligence and robotics, has long drawn attention to the psychological distance from the horrors of war that is maintained by operators who pilot unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), often from thousands of miles away.

"These guys who are driving them sit there all day...they go home and eat dinner with their families at night," he said.

"It's kind of a very odd way of fighting a war - it's changing the character of war dramatically."

[Read More]

Related Links:

{Related Articles} Military’s killer robots must learn warrior code

Autonomous Military Robotics:
Risk, Ethics, and Design

And

Human rights for robots? We’re getting carried away

Kashmir