Chris Jackson, presenter of Inside Out in the North East and Cumbria, registered pet George with three industry bodies.

Each one accepted a certificate from the non-existent Society of Certified Advanced Mind Therapists as proof of George’s credentials.

It follows a similar investigation by an American clinical psychologist.

Dr Steve Eichel suspected industry bodies in the US were not running checks on their members.

He said: “I felt I’d test my hypothesis and I did that by getting my cat certified by a number of the most prominent lay hypnosis organisations in the United States. It was a frighteningly simple process.”

In the UK, George was registered with the British Board of Neuro Linguistic Programming (BBNLP), the United Fellowship of Hypnotherapists (UFH) and the Professional Hypnotherapy Practitioner Association (PHPA).

The UFH welcomed the Inside Out investigation and admitted the mistake, which it said has since been corrected.

A PHPA spokesman said the organisation makes great effort to ensure every applicant is a fully-qualified hypnotherapist.

The BBNLP said it exists only to provide benefits to its members, not to check or certify credentials.

Source: BBC News

Tags: george, cat, hypnotherapist

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

The weight of the knobbly root vegetable has not yet been verified by the Guinness Book of Records, but could be several times heavier than the existing record holder – a 7lb 13oz spud grown in the Isle of Man.

“I’ve been working the land since I was a boy, and it’s the first time I’ve seen anything like it,” said Khalil Semhat, 56, a farmer near the city of Tyre 50 miles south of Beirut.

Describing his find as a “giant”, Mr Semhat displayed the potato for a photographer on a large set of scales.

The tuber was so heavy Mr Semhat said he had to call on a friend to help him pry it from the ground, according to AFP.

His farm, damaged during Israel’s heavy bombardment of south Lebanon during a brief war in summer 2006, mostly grows potatoes and bananas.

Despite the freakish size of the vegetable, Mr Semhat insisted he had used no artificial fertilisers: “I didn’t use any chemicals at all,” he said.

Mr Semhat hopes to have the potato registered by Guinness in its next book of records.

Source: Telegraph

Tags: potato, records, farming

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

The ‘find me if you can’ range of underwear has been described as a modern-day, high-tech chastity belt.

‘It is outrageous to think that men can buy this, programme it and give it to their partners and then monitor them,’ said Claudia Burghart, leader of a Berlin feminist group.

‘It is nothing more than a chastity belt for insecure men.’

Lingerie maker Lucia Lorio of Brazil says her design targets the ‘modern, techno-savvy woman’.

The lingerie combination set consists of lace bodice, bikini bottom and faux pearl collar, with the GPS device nestled in the see-through part of the bodice next to the waist.

‘This collection… is a wink to women and a challenge to men because, even if she gives him the password to her GPS, she can always turn it off,’ Lorio said.

‘It’s not a modern chastity belt. Some men think they can keep tabs on their girlfriends with it, but they’re wrong,’ she added.

Unconcerned with the controversy her collection has raised, Lorio is also dismissive of the global financial crisis and its adverse impact on luxury items sales.

The GPS lingerie sells from a cool £500, complete with a standard Global Positioning System, to £700 with a more advanced model.

‘Some women are now interested in buying it for protection,’ she said, programming it for partners themselves so they are safe on a night out alone.

‘In London, New York, Rio de Janiero – wherever there is danger, the underwear may prove to be a lifesaver,’ she added.

But feminists in her homeland have called her a modern-day slaver and urged women to boycott the GPS underwear.

Source: dailymail

Tags: gps, lingerie, women, feminists, funny, news, tracking

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

“Maybe in eight years,” replies a laughing Palin.

The Republican vice presidential nominee discusses politics, the perils of hunting with Vice President Dick Cheney, and Sarkozy’s “beautiful wife,” in a recording of the six-minute call released Saturday and set to air Monday on a Quebec radio station.

Palin campaign spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt confirmed she had received the prank call.

“Governor Palin was mildly amused to learn that she had joined the ranks of heads of state, including President Sarkozy and other celebrities, in being targeted by these pranksters. C’est la vie,” she said.

The call was made by a well-known Montreal comedy duo Marc-Antoine Audette and Sebastien Trudel. Known as the Masked Avengers, the two are notorious for prank calls to celebrities and heads of state.

Audette, posing as Sarkozy, speaks in an exaggerated French accent and drops ample hints that the conversation is a joke. But Palin seemingly does not pick up on them.

He tells Palin one of his favorite pastimes is hunting, also a passion of the 44-year-old Alaska governor.

“I just love killing those animals. Mmm, mmm, take away life, that is so fun,” the fake Sarkozy says.

He proposes they go hunting together by helicopter, something he says he has never done.

“Well, I think we could have a lot of fun together while we’re getting work done,” Palin counters. “We can kill two birds with one stone that way.”

Read the rest of Sarah Palin takes prank call from fake French president

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Source

Tags: funny, lhc, Large, Hadron, Collider, live, webcam

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Mike Hammond was bombarded with offers after advertising in his village post office for someone to accompany his 88-year-old father Jack on visits to a southern England pub from a nursing home.

He offered the lucky winner 7 pounds ($14) an hour plus expenses and, after sifting through the applicants, decided on a job-share. Drinking duties are to be divided between a retired doctor and a former military man.

“Dad’s now going to be going down to the pub several times a week — three with his new friends and twice with me,” Mike Hammond told The Times on Thursday. “I want to give him some of his old life back.”

(Reporting by Paul Majendie, Editing by Paul Casciato)

Source: Yahoo News

Tags: drink, paid, money, job, funny, humor, weird, news

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

“From my terrace you have a clear view of the People’s House where the NATO 2008 Summit will take place between 2nd and 4th of April. I’m renting out space for whatever needs you might have: TV crew, sniper, etc.

Details:

- each spot has 1m width
- multiple spots available
- 24/7 access to the terrace
- soft drinks and snacks included
- access to a bathroom and storage facility (limited availability)

Price: 5000 EUR / spot / day
”

The comments on the ad are also hilarious.

Read the full message here

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

“PATERSON, New Jersey (AP) — Daisy Valdivia is annoyed that someone stole her backyard pool — and baffled at how they did it without leaving behind a splash, drip or trace of the 1,000 gallons of water it contained.

Valdivia awoke to find her family’s hip-high, inflatable, 10-foot diameter swimming pool gone from her back yard Wednesday.

Valdivia told The Record of Bergen County the theft must have occurred between 1 a.m., when her husband went to bed, and 5 a.m., when she awoke.

She’s amazed someone could steal the pool that quickly and just wanted to know “what the heck they did with the water,” she said.

Valdivia told The Herald News of Passaic County that she was surprised the thieves chose the pool to steal.

“We have two grills, chairs, umbrellas, they’re much easier to take,” she told the paper”

Full Story

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Tags: george, bush, funny, video, videos, humor, watch, stolen, albania, visit

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Created by Dan

Some pictures of how it looks:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh