Tokens of Doom
The Chinese may not believe in Jesus Christ, but they do have their own superstitions, this is one of the more unusual ones:
China’s earthquake disaster and other recent misfortunes have been linked to the five Olympic mascots
The five Olympic mascots are Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, Nini and Beibei.
Jingjing, a panda, is the animal most closely associated with Sichuan province where the earthquake struck.
Huanhuan, a cartoon character with flame-red hair, is being linked to the Olympic torch that has been dogged by anti-China protests on its round-the-world tour.
Yingying, an antelope, is an animal confined to the borders of Tibet, which has been the scene of riots and the cause of international protests against China.
Nini, represented by a kite, is being viewed as a reference to the “kite city” of Weifang, in Shandong, where there was a deadly train crash last month.
That leaves only Beibei, represented by a sturgeon fish, which online doomsayers suggest could indicate a looming disaster in the Yangtze River, the only place where sturgeon is found.
from Tokens of doom: mascots seen as signs of times
Charles is Jesus’ great, great, great, great, etc, grandson
The legend that Mary Magdalene went to France carrying Jesus’ child may be true after all. Stew at 2000 Years of Deception has found some evidence that Jesus’ descendants made it to France, where they are now running a condiments business.
Charles CHRIST, the Authentic Taste
Doctors to trial cannabis spray
NSW Doctors are set to trial an oral spray which delivers cannabis compounds, on patients with various illnesses. Cannabis is believed to relieve pain, particularly to people suffering from HIV or cancer.
This could prove to be of great benefit to pain sufferers, especially ones who don’t like the idea of smoking a joint.
Though I can see it could be abused – “but Officer, it’s just my asthma inhaler, honest”.
from news.com.au and smh.com.au
19 May 2008 at 6:19 pm
In Canada, where it’s available on prescription, they’ve found it only works for half of patients, taken under the tongue (sub-lingually?). This makes it sound less interesting.
Hey man, i gotta 50% chance of blowing my mind!
19 May 2008 at 10:21 pm
When my Dad was dying of cancer he managed to get a fair bit of relief from using weed. He wouldn’t touch conventional painkillers though for reasons he never elaborated upon.
But then, he was the guy who got sick of having a wired up jaw and got out the pliers. You don’t want to know about his vasectomy stitches.
21 May 2008 at 3:49 pm
OZ,
Carnival of the godless is looking for hosts interested:
http://www.unscrewingtheinscrutable.com/node/1882#comment-28674
21 May 2008 at 9:46 pm
Thanks for the heads-up Sean, I’ve offered my assistance.
25 May 2008 at 8:38 pm
OzAtheist, if you’re looking for something to rant about, check out this apologia for theocracy.