Weird News

[BigV]

why would she buy the cow when she gets all the milk she wants for free already???

[Gravdigr]

Ok, their idea of 'mass shooting' and ours may be a little different, but, I wholeheartedly endorse what this news outlet has done. And I've been saying it for years.

From PolicyMic (video editorial at the link, on why they chose to cover the story in this way, if you can get by the anchor's over-the-top delivery)

A Canadian Network Is Covering a Mass Shooting in a Way American Outlets Won't

After a shooter murdered three Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers and left two others in critical condition in New Brunswick, the Canadian network refused to show his name or picture. The network ran an editorial Friday to give the reasoning behind the decision.

"It's easy to report on the life of the killer, to scour his deranged Facebook page, to speculate about motive, but doing so could actually encourage the perception that his heinous acts are somehow justified," the editorial reads. "We will not help give this killer his blaze of glory."

Interestingly enough, Sun News is known as a conservative network, called "Fox News North" by its detractors (though the network has pushed back against that comparison).

The reasoning: Studies have shown that intense media coverage of celebrity suicides can lead to a copycat effect, increasing risk factors for suicide. While mass shootings are too rare to allow for a statistically significant determination of whether media coverage helps lead to copycat murders, some researchers theorize that the same effect is in play.

It's not difficult to see why. Many shooters express a desire for attention or fame before their killings; the two Columbine shooters hoped Steven Spielberg or Quentin Tarantino would make a film about them. In the wake of mass shootings, media outlets descend on a community and seem to barrage the airwaves with details about the perpetrators — what they said on social media, how they dressed and what video games they played.

"With the unwitting cooperation of 24/7 media, he will become a national villain," Vox's Ezra Klein wrote about the UCSB shooter two weeks ago. "And other sick young men will see him get the renown in death that they have have never been able to receive in life."

Responsible reporting: So where do outlets draw the line between covering what is undoubtedly a major news event and not making shooters into celebrities? The National Institute for Mental Health, in cooperation with many other government agencies, has a set of guidelines for media coverage of suicide that can inform some aspects of shooting coverage.

In other cases, it comes down to exercising good news judgement. Coverage of the UCSB shooter's misogynistic motives, mainly gleaned from his online postings and videos, drove national conversations about the link between sexism, racism and violence, including the launch of #YesAllWomen — arguably welcome outcomes from such a tragic event. Reporting on gun control policy and mental health access in relation to shootings can also be vital.

Sun News exercised its judgement and decided that releasing the New Brunswick shooter's name and photo would harm rather than help the story and its audience. Even if it doesn't spark a chain reaction in U.S. media, it's still a conversation that should happen in every newsroom in the wake of such a tragedy. There are always plenty of details out there — which ones are really important?

Bravo, Sun News, bravo!

[Gravdigr]

from YahooNews

Alabama beaches reopen after over 100 sharks cause double red flag warnings

On Tuesday, swimmers were finally allowed back into the gulf waters off Orange Beach, Alabama following days of double red flag warnings that were prompted by a massive group of sharks. As reported by WKRG News 5, the rare warning is an alert for swimmers to avoid the waters but despite the flags, some beachgoers were still going into the gulf.

WKRG took to the sky for a better perspective and as late as Sunday afternoon, they reported seeing 100 to 150 sharks swimming around the area where the gulf meets Perdido Pass. Experts believed that they were bull sharks and varied in size with some 6 to 7 feet long, but most just 3 to 4 feet long. According to WKRG, bull sharks are one of the top ten deadliest sharks. By Monday, most of the sharks had dispersed and the station was only able to count 22 sharks in the area, a number closer to the norm.

The Pensacola News Journal reported that Melvin Shepard, Orange Beach safety director, felt the large number of sharks in the area were there to feed. "We think a lot has to do with snapper fishing," Shepard said. "A lot of people are cleaning their fish and tossing them into the water (at the pass). We're hoping with snapper season ending today, people will stop dumping their carcasses and the sharks will disperse."

By noon on Tuesday, the paper reported that the double red flags had been taken down after it was confirmed that only a few sharks remained near Perdido Pass.

[Carruthers]

OK, it's not weird but it's definitely out of the ordinary.

When the opportunity presents itself, I'll sit out in the sunshine. I'm interested in almost anything that flies, be it bird or aircraft, so I usually have binoculars to hand.

I spotted this mighty beast heading northwards and had absolutely no idea what it was. Wikipedia tells us that it is the only example ever built and was intended to transport the Soviet version of the Space Shuttle.

According to various websites, it has visited East Midlands on a number of previous occasions. My first thoughts were that it would be collecting aero engines from the Rolls Royce plant at Derby but it seems that Cargolux normally does that job with a regular flight to the Boeing plant near Seattle. No doubt all will be revealed soon.



I wonder how long it took for the brakes to cool down.

ETA: Intelligence reaching me says that it was collecting Rolls-Royce engines for the Airbus plant at Toulouse. Well, I was half right.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Carruthers

I'm interested in almost anything that flies, be it bird or aircraft, so I usually have binoculars to hand.

Ask Casually mention, and you shall receive.