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Curious Times No. 182
March 6, 2003LET'S PUT AN END TO STUPID, UGLY PEOPLE
Biologist James Watson, who, along with Francis Crick, discovered the structure of DNA 50 years ago, has stirred up a bit of controversy in the UK by suggesting that low intelligence is an inherited disorder and that molecular biologists should create gene therapies to wipe out the plague of stupid people on our planet. "If you are really stupid, I would call that a disease," Watson explained, "The lower 10 per cent who really have difficulty, even in elementary school, what's the cause of it? A lot of people would like to say, 'Well, poverty, things like that.' It probably isn't. So I'd like to get rid of that, to help the lower 10 per cent." He went on to suggest that geneticists should also get busy engineering beauty genes, so that we could eliminate stupidity and ugliness. "People say it would be terrible if we made all girls pretty. I think it would be great," he concluded. (New Scientist)"NEW" NEW WORLD ORDER
The "axis of evil" was warmly welcomed at last week's meeting of the "Non-Aligned Movement," a summit of 116 nations which represent the majority of United Nations members but hold little of its power. The two-day summit included speeches from all three "axis" members - North Korea, Iran and Iraq - as well as Cuba's Fidel Castro, Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed. The "Non-Aligned Movement" is trying to capitalize on the current backlash against U.S. dominance and unilateralism around the globe. Summit leaders urged the creation of an "alternative world order" where power would be shared equitably, war would be outlawed, and weapons of mass destruction would be banned from every nation, including the United States. "The most important threat that we face is the tendency of the powerful to wage war when faced with opposition to the spread of their dominance," said chairman Mahathir in his keynote speech. (Globe and Mail)YOU ONLY LOVE ME FOR MY FAKE BANK BALANCE
An online gag gift company has started selling ATMitations - fake ATM receipts with huge bank balances designed to impress a potential date who isn't very impressed by your personality or looks. The fake receipts look similar to real ATM slips, are issued by Fidelity National Bank & Savings, and include a balance of $314,159.26. The makers of the ATM-itations suggest that the next time you meet someone who doesn't seem interested in you, or is out of your league, nonchalantly pull the fake receipt out of your wallet as if you are searching for some scrap paper. Then write your number on the back and give it to the unsuspecting victim. The website promises that you'll get a phone call in no time. (www.pullmyfinger.com)
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CENSORED NEWS NETWORK
For those of you who are going to watch the next war live on CNN and are still naive enough to believe that you'll actually be getting an accurate view of events as they unfold, think again. Besides being spoon-fed propaganda from Pentagon spokespeople, the major news networks in America also have their own covert forms of censorship to deal with any "sensitive" issues they don't want the public to know about. For example, on Jan. 27 CNN sent a document out to all its foreign correspondent's titled "Reminder of Script Approval Policy" which lays out in detail the hoops journalists must jump through in order to have their reports cleared for airing on national TV. "All reporters preparing package scripts must submit the scripts for approval," says the document, and goes on to warn writers that script editors in Atlanta will insist on changes and "balances" in a reporter's dispatch if the story does not jive with CNN's management. In this way, we can be sure that no matter what happens in Iraq, Kuwait, Jerusalem or Ramallah, "authorized script approvers" at CNN in Atlanta will make sure we only hear the news that will keep the war popular with Americans. (The Independent)THE MONEY'S GOOD, BUT THE SEX IS AWFUL
A grieving couple out of Tianjin, China, are offering $120,000 to a man who will marry their daughter, who died on Feb. 11 at the age of 28. According to the China Daily, "ghost marriages" for young adults who die unmarried are an ancient Chinese custom which is making a comeback in rural China after a few decades of decline due to Communist laws against the practice. The parents have placed an ad in their local newspaper, offering the cash and an apartment to a groom who will stay faithful to his ghost bride. The woman's mother placed the ad after having a dream in which her dead daughter told her that she was lonely without a husband in the spirit world.BEAM ME UP
Physicists are continuing to increase the distance which laser photons can be teleported. In 1997, the first successful teleportation of a qubit managed the distance of about one meter. The latest experiment, carried out by Swiss and Danish scientists, managed to teleport a light particle over two kilometers, the largest distance yet achieved.. (Discovery.com)
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