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This Week in Weird


RenaissanceLady

Paranormal Adept
It started when many of the major papers reported that the President of Argentina was adopting a Jewish man to prove he wasn't a werewolf.

President of Argentina adopts Jewish godson to 'stop him turning into a werewolf'

The President of Argentina has adopted a young Jewish man as her godson to "stop him turning into a werewolf", according to tradition.

President Christina Fernández de Kirchner met Yair Tawil and his family at her office last week to mark the unusual ceremony, which dates back more than 100 years.

According to Argentinian folklore, the seventh son born to a family turns into the feared “el lobison”.

The werewolf-like creature shows its true nature on the first Friday after boy’s 13th birthday, the legend says, turning the boy into a demon at midnight during every full moon, doomed to hunt and kill before returning to human form.
(For the full story, please see: President of Argentina adopts Jewish godson to 'stop him turning into a werewolf' - Americas - World - The Independent

Choosing not to frolic in the guano, The Guardian UK completely shredded the story and all of the "legitimate" news sources that reported this without first checking the facts:

No, Argentina's president did not adopt a Jewish child to stop him turning into a werewolf

The chance meeting of a Latin American president with a colourful myth too good to fact-check proved irresistible for many

Nope. Argentina’s President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has not become godmother of a Jewish baby to stop him from becoming a werewolf – despite what you may have read in multiple news reports.

Over the past few days, the story has been reported and unquestioningly re-reported across the echo chamber of the internet, picked up by news organisations around the world including Haaretz, Buzzfeed, The Independent and The Huffington Post.

Like all good urban myths, the articles were based on a grain of truth: by tradition, the seventh son (or daughter) born to an Argentine family is eligible to become the godson (or daughter) of the president. Until this month, the honour had only been bestowed on Christian babies, but on Wednesday, Iair Tawil – not a baby, but the strapping 21-year old son of a rabbi – became the country’s first Jewish presidential godson.
(For the full story, please see: No, Argentina's president did not adopt a Jewish child to stop him turning into a werewolf | World news | The Guardian

OK, I'll admit it. I REALLY wanted that story to be true and even shared it on both my personal and professional Facebook pages. Argentina's president already had the reputation of being a bit off, so the story didn't seem that far-fetched.


In other news...

Much closer to home -- as in, just on the other side of the pass from where I live -- a couple is claiming that they found a UFO which can only be seen through their camera's viewfinder:

Colorado witness sees UFO only in camera viewfinder

A Colorado witness at Fairplay reported seeing a Saturn-like UFO on her camera screen that could not be seen with the naked eye, according to testimony in Case 62246 from the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) witness reporting database.

The event occurred about 1:30 p.m. on December 14, 2014, as the reporting witness and his fiancé were driving along Highway 285.

“The surrounding area was very beautiful, so she decided take some pictures,” the reporting witness stated. “She noticed an object on the screen and she started to try to find it without using the phone and was asking if I could see anything. She realized she could only see it through the camera screen on the phone.”
Colorado witness sees UFO only in camera viewfinder - Openminds.tv

It's a blurry and out-of-focus photo of something. Therefore, it must be an alien.

Admittedly, Fairplay is just a couple of hours north of the infamous San Luis Valley. This whole county has also had its fair share of UFO and Bigfoot sightings, sometimes simultaneously. (Fairplay also had a tornado touch down last summer, which is extremely unusual for the high Colorado Rockies. Things are getting weird 'round these parts.)

Thoughts and comments are will probably be appreciated.












 
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