Snipe Hunt

One of the ways experienced campers at the summer camp I used to attend would make fun of newbies was to send the new guys on a snipe hunt. There was no such thing, of course. Variations on this trick by more experienced people on newer people are used all the time. "Bring me a left-handed hammer," or "Take me to Porthemmet Beach."

LONDON (AFP) - Thousands of online visitors have been drawn to an English beach by pictures of turquoise seas, golden sands and palm trees, but risk disappointment as it is only a virtual surfers' paradise.

Nearly 7,000 hits have been recorded at www.porthemmet.com, which showcases the beach in Cornwall, southwest England, an area well known internationally for powerful surfer-friendly waves and attractive beaches.

"If you are planning a trip to Cornwall then be sure to visit Porthemmet Beach," says the website. "It is regarded as Cornwall's best beach by both the Cornish people and frequent visitors to the county.

"Situated in north Cornwall, Porthemmet is the largest beach in the county. Due to an influx from the Gulf Stream, Porthemmet has very warm waters and looks more like a tropical paradise than a beach in the UK," it says.

The problem is, "Porthemmet Beach" does not exist.

And, although the creator of the site denies it, there may be a bit of mean-spiritedness involved. Emmet means "ant" in Cornish and is used by local residents as a derogatory term for tourists. Jonty Haywood, a Cornwall native, says he made the site just for fun. But he also sets up a bit of an ambush for the unsuspecting:

"Although I would like to claim there is an important underlying point being made here, there isn't. Sending tourists off to find an imaginary beach is funny."

Haywood makes it difficult to uncover the hoax.

On the website, visitors are warned: "It should be noted that there is a private joke in Cornwall whereby locals will pretend not to know where Porthemmet Beach is.

"Don't be fooled, every Cornish person knows about this beach, they are just having some fun. Tell them that you are an 'emmet' (someone that loves Cornwall)."

By the way, the Porthemmet Beach website is unavailable right now. Whether it is server overload or that he's taken it down now, I have no idea. But as with any snipe hunt, it's only funny until the victims figure out the truth. Then it's hysterical.

UPDATE: The wire service story left out a few other things:

It also advises tourists to pronounce the renowned Cornish delicacy "pasty" as "parsty" and address locals as "me luvver" and "ansome" - words designed to enrage residents.

The website says: "There is a private joke in Cornwall where locals will pretend not to know where Porthemmet beach is. Don't be fooled."

The hoax was created by Cambridge graduate Jonty Haywood, of Truro.

He said: "Sending tourists off to an imaginary beach is funny. I am sure Cornish people have done things like this before."

But Julia Cox from VisitCornwall said: "We really don't want people thinking that Cornwall is hostile to tourists because that is not the case."

Mass Hysteria

Space.com is reporting that some experts believe that the reports of people getting sick after a meteor (properly a 'meteorite') landed in Peru are nothing more than mass hysteria. After villagers in Carancas heard the impact, those who rushed to see what caused the noise reported becoming physically sick. Now we, and they, are being assured that there is nothing to worry about.

Some health officials suggest that the symptoms described by the locals, the large number of people reporting symptoms, and the apparently rapid spread have all the hallmarks of a case of mass hysteria.

"Those who say they are affected are the product of a collective psychosis," Jorge Lopez Tejada, health department chief in Puno, the nearest city, told the Los Angeles Times.

This psychosis could have begun as a result of fear of the meteorite and the mysterious "disease" on the part of the residents and spread as official and media reports seemed to confirm it and give it credence.

"The Peruvian event seems to be a rare case where we may be witnessing collective anxiety that is approaching near hysteria," said Benny Peiser, a social anthropologist at John Moores University in England. "The major[ity] of the affected Peruvian town hinted that some of the mass anxiety is due to fear of imminent impacts and psychological stress which is not surprising given the premature speculation and media hype."

Other experts are actually questioning whether any meteor hit at all.

quot;In recent years, there have been numerous cases where alleged meteorite falls were linked to mysterious explosions on the ground—only to be proven wrong," Peiser said. "One of the main reasons for the significant increase of such claims is almost certainly due to the growing media interest in the cosmic impact risk. It is part of human nature— and extremely tempting for the news media—to hype any event that initially looks mysterious."

While this fear is normal and understandable, it's been blown out of proportion so that the public thinks that impact risks are higher than they are, Peiser argues.

"Most people are simply not aware that we are making enormous progress in finding and identifying the population of Near Earth Objects and that the impact risk is thus diminishing year by year," Peiser said.

So don't worry, be happy. The aliens did not bombard Peru and the residents of Carancas did not get turned into zombies. These are not the 'droids you are looking for. The government sent a spokesman to explain all this to the residents, of course.

(Photo by Joel Friesen)

There is an immediate opening for a new government spokesman.

(Brought to you by the Peruvian Meteor Scholars For Truth®)

Automatic Weapons Fired Into Crowds In Burma

Soldiers have fired automatic weapons into crowds of protesters in Burma. The number of dead is unknown at this time.

YANGON, Myanmar - Soldiers fired automatic weapons into a crowd of anti-government protesters Thursday as tens of thousands defied the ruling military junta's crackdown with a 10th straight day of demonstrations.

A Japanese Foreign Ministry official told The Associated Press that several people, including a Japanese national, were found dead following Thursday's protests.

The information was transmitted by Myanmar's Foreign Ministry to the Japanese Embassy in Yangon, the official said on condition of anonymity citing protocol.

The chaos came a day after the government launched a crackdown in Yangon that it said killed at least one man. Dissidents outside Myanmar reported receiving news of up to eight deaths Wednesday.

Some reports said the dead included Buddhist monks, who are widely revered in Myanmar, and the emergence of such martyrs could stoke public anger against the regime and escalate the violence.

Agam has video.

UPDATE: Jon Swift on the silence of the libs:

I have been very worried about what might happen if a Democrat is elected President and he or she starts listening to liberal bloggers about foreign policy. I thought liberal bloggers believed the United States was self-absorbed and arrogant and they want to change the perception of our country in the rest of the world. But the reaction to what is happening in Burma leads me to believe that maybe they don't want to change so much after all and that's a big relief.

UPDATE: CNN is reporting that the military junta is reporting nine dead. Want to bet it's higher?