The Apocalypse Is Near: Part IV

A report from Egypt says that a medical center there is treating various maladies by having patients drink camel urine. It apparently is good for “the treatment of skin diseases such as ringworm, tinea and abscesses, sores that may appear on the body and hair, dry and wet ulcers, swelling of the liver, toothache, and for washing eyes.” Ah … no, thanks.

In Britain, 26% of the population has received a diagnosis of depression at some point in their lives. That is depressing. However, it doesn’t mean that they were all clinically depressed. I don’t know what goes on over there, but here in the US, it seems all you have to do is tell a doctor you feel depressed and you will likely receive a prescription for an anti-depressant.

How’s this for chutzpah? Francesco Schettino, the former captain of the ill-fated liner Costa Concordia, has sued the company that owned the ship for wrongful termination after he was fired. You may recall that he is facing charges of manslaughter and abandoning the ship. [LINK]

Here are five stories that make me pessimistic about the future of our country.

1. A boy removed the brakes from his bicycle, promptly ran through a stop sign and crashed into a car. [LINK]

2. An adult couple who were babysitting tied a 2-year-old girl to a coffee table because she wouldn’t stay away from the refrigerator. Yes, that’s bad, but it gets worse. They “began to wonder if it was a bad idea to tie up the girl, and discussed the situation with an upstairs neighbor” who then called the police. [LINK]

3. Two law students were arrested for killing a rare exotic bird at a hotel in Las Vegas. They were tossing it around and then decapitated it. Did I mention they were law students? The article describing this heinous crime says they attended “Berkeley University in northern California.” I think the reporter meant to say University of California, Berkeley, but how would he have any way to know this since Berkeley is at least 500 miles from Las Vegas? [LINK]

4. Another northern California story details a new diversion created by boys at a high school. They started a “fantasy slut league” in which “Male students earn points for documented engagement in sexual activities with female students." This is so bizarre that even I can’t think of anything to say about it. [LINK]

5. The University of North Carolina has banned the use of the word “freshman” to denote a student in the first year of college because the term is “non-gender inclusive.” From now on, they are to be called “first year students.” The story is amusing as it points out the problems with the words sophomore, junior and senior. [LINK]