May 17
Businessman Recreating 9/11 to Prove (or Disprove) Conspiracy Theories, GOP Leaves Porn Open on Computer, New Study Shows Fracking Risks on Children’s Risks, and More Picks
PICKS are stories from many sources, selected by our editors or recommended by our readers because they are important, surprising, troubling, enlightening, inspiring, or amusing. They appear on our site and in our daily newsletter. Please send suggested articles, videos, podcasts, etc. to picks@whowhatwhy.org.
Businessman Raising £1m to Recreate 9/11 to Prove Conspiracy Theories True or False ‘Once and for All’ (Trevin)
Paul Salo, an American-born businessman living in Thailand, is planning to crowdfund the cash to buy a Boeing 747, fill it with jet fuel, and smash it into an empty building at 500 mph to see if the official 9/11 story holds up. “If there’s just a smoking hole in the building and nothing happens, you pretty much know it was a hoax, right?” Salo asks in a promotional video for the event.
Navy Allowed to Harass, Injure, Kill 12 Million Whales, Dolphins, Etc (Russ)
A group, using the Navy’s own numbers, chronicled the astonishing carnage over five years.
Poll Shows Once Again That GOP Voters Live in a Different Country (Klaus)
Many Republicans live in a world in which Barack Obama is a Muslim born in Africa. A truly stunning poll has shown that a lot of GOP voters also live in an alternate reality with regard to the performance of the economy. 64% of Republicans claim that the unemployment rate has increased under Obama, even though it has dipped significantly. And 57% of Republicans believe that the stock market has gone down, even though it has doubled while he was in office.
New Study Shows Risk to Children’s Health from Fracking (Russ)
Infants and young children seem to face special respiratory risks.
Conservative Congressional Candidate Shares Porn Preference with Voters (Klaus)
Mike Webb, a conservative Republican running for Congress in Virginia, learned a valuable lesson about sharing his screen with voters: Close all of the pornographic websites you visited before doing so. That’s right, Webb left two tabs open which showed that he liked “sexy amateur” Ivone and the “tight body” of somebody called Layla Rivera. Obviously, there is nothing wrong with an adult looking at porn, but it is a bit embarrassing if a lawmaker does it who wants to force their own value system on everybody else.
The Strange Life of Ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek (Dan)
The former ruler, who was ousted in 2011 during possibly the most pivotal moment of the Arab Spring, remains confined in a hospital. His health treatments, however, came to an end long ago. So why does he stay? Many believe that, with new President Sisi’s acquiescence, Mubarek can wait until the remaining Arab Spring protestors are jailed and eventually be released.
CIA Watchdog ‘Accidentally Destroyed’ Copy of ‘Torture Report’ (Reader Pat)
Oops! The dog deleted my homework says CIA. This comes on the heels of Friday’s Appeals Court decision to deny the ACLU’s FOIA request for the full report.
