Dr_Evil_Mouse

That's awesome .

Amnesty says Saudi Arabia may paralyze man as punishment

Sun Aug 22, 9:47 AM

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - A court in Saudi Arabia is considering deliberately paralyzing a man as punishment after he was convicted of severing the spinal cord of another person with a cleaver during a fight, Amnesty International said on Sunday.

Amnesty said a court in the northwest province of Tabuk had approached a number of hospitals about the possibility of cutting the man's spinal cord in a medical setting, after the victim requested such a punishment.

"It is reported that one hospital said that it could be done by a special medical center. As Amnesty International we have appealed to the Ministry of Justice," Amnesty spokesman Lamri Chirous told Reuters by telephone from London.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson could not be immediately reached to comment on the Amnesty report.

Saudi Arabia, a close U.S. ally, follows an austere version of Sunni Islam that includes floggings for some offences, amputations for thieves, and public beheadings for crimes including murder, rape and drug smuggling.

Human rights activists say that while Islamic law stipulates like-for-like punishments, victims or their surviving family members can often be persuaded to forgive an attacker, often in exchange for monetary compensation.

"This is written in the Koran, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth and a soul for a soul... Islam calls for forgiveness but if the victim insists then it is his right," said Ahmed Almobi, an Islamic scholar and writer in Saudi Arabia.

Amnesty, which said the man lacked legal assistance during his trial, urged the government not to carry out the punishment. It said the court had the option to instead sentence the man to jail, flogging or a financial penalty.

"While those guilty of a crime should be held accountable, intentionally paralyzing a man in this way would constitute torture," Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, acting director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme, said in a statement.

(Reporting by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

I think a capo's in order for at least a couple of these. It's tough to pick and choose, though, not knowing what you're folks liked hearing in those media in those times.

Beatles - A Day in the Life

Van Morrison - And It Stoned Me

Patsy Cline - Crazy

Doobie Bros. - Black Water

Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen

Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues

Neil Young - Harvest Moon

Zeppelin - Gallows Pole

Bob Marley - Stir It Up

Steven Stills - Love the One You're with

Rolling Stones - Can't Always Get What You Want

The Who - Magic Bus

Eric Clapton - Lay Down Sally

Wilson Picket - Mustang Sally

J.J. Cale - Sensitive Kind

David Wilcox - Riverboat Fantasy

David Bowie - Space Oddity

The Band - Up on Cripple Creek

Bob Dylan - Masterpiece

Little Feat - Willin'

He's not the one really ruling the country, though. Nothing he does happens without the assent of the most conservative of the mullahs. The hope should then be that there might be cooler heads in that crowds to stem the crazies a bit.

Churchgoers, Strippers Protest One Another

Monday, August 9, 2010 02:54 AM

By Holly Zachariah

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

WARSAW, Ohio -- Strip-club owner Tommy George rolled up to the church in his grabber-orange Dodge Challenger, drinking a Mountain Dew at 9 in the morning and smoking a cigarette he had just rolled himself.

Pastor Bill Dunfee stepped out of a tan Nissan Murano, clutching a Bible in one hand and his sermon in the other, a touch of spray holding his perfectly coiffed 'do in place.

Inside the New Beginnings Ministries church, Dunfee's worshippers wore polyester and pearls.

Outside, George's strippers wore bikinis and belly rings.

Both men agree it is classic sinners vs. saints. But George says it is up to America to decide which is which and who is who.

Dunfee says God already has chosen.

"Tom George is a parasite, a man without judgment," Dunfee said. "The word of Jesus Christ says you cannot share territory with the devil."

The battle that has heretofore played out in the parking lot of George's strip club - the Foxhole, a run-down, garage-like building at a Coshocton County crossroads called Newcastle - has shifted 7 miles east to Church Street.

Every weekend for the last four years, Dunfee and members of his ministry have stood watch over George's joint, taking up residence in the right of way with signs, video cameras and bullhorns in hand. They videotape customers' license plates and post them online, and they try to save the souls of anyone who comes and goes.

Now, the dancers have turned the tables, so to speak. Fed up with the tactics of Dunfee and his flock, they say they have finally accepted his constant invitation to come to church.

It's just that they've come wearing see-through shorts and toting Super Soakers.

They bring lawn chairs and - yesterday, anyway - grilled hamburgers, Monster energy drinks and corn on the cob.

They sat in front of the church and waved at passing cars but largely ignored the congregation behind them.

Likewise, the churchgoers largely ignored the dancers. Except for Stan Braxton. He stopped and held hands with Lola, a 42-year-old dancer who made $200 on her Saturday night shift, and prayed for her salvation.

Lola, who wouldn't give her last name, said she was grateful for Braxton's prayers and his time.

The women don't come here, after all, without their own version of religion. They bring signs with Scriptures written in neon colors:

Matthew 7:15: Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing

Revelations 22:11: He that is unjust, let him be unjust still

Greg Flaig is executive director of the Ohio Owners Coalition, a group of showbar and club owners. He called the women's protest extraordinary, saying he's never heard of anything like it in the country.

George said the protest has been a long time coming. He sued the church in federal court several years ago, claiming a violation of his constitutional rights, but he lost. Now, he said, turnabout is fair play.

"When these morons go away, we'll go away," George said. "The great thing about this country is that everyone has a right to believe what they want."

He said his club operates within the law. Dunfee said it does not, that it must close at midnight instead of its regular 2 or 3 a.m. Coshocton County Prosecutor Bob Batchelor said Friday only that he, the sheriff and the city prosecutor are "aware of the situation."

Gina Hughes spent the morning soaking up the sun in her striped bikini, mostly oblivious to the fire and brimstone being preached in the tidy church building.

The 30-year-old married mother of six said she has danced at the Foxhole for a decade and holds the title of "house mom." That means that even though she still dances, she also watches out for the six other women who work there.

She said she makes $2,000 a week.

"These church people say horrible things about us," Hughes said. "They say we're homewreckers and whores. The fact of the matter is, we're working to keep our own homes together, to give our kids what they need."

Dunfee said it's not that simple. He said he consistently offers the women help, a chance at redemption.

"I tell them, 'I will put a roof over your heads, and your bills will be paid, and your children's bellies will be full,'" he said. Yet they don't come inside.

The first few weeks, Dunfee piped the sermon outside. But that "agitated" them, he said, and made them dance in the streets.

He said their presence has united his church members and reinvigorated their mission to shut down the club.

"They have now seen the evil firsthand," Dunfee said. "This has just made us stronger."

George laughed at that notion.

"They're just mad," he said, "because their wives won't let them come to my club."

aKWVCv8uWDI

Great to see so many old friends and some new friends. Events like this should happen more frequently!

Word!

For now...

I think Hellraiser (I) was the last horror movie I went to deliberately. It did the trick well enough to keep me away from horror movies ever since - not out of any latent anxieties or anything, but just because it seemed to do all the things a horror movie is supposed to. But then again, all that is terrifically subjective, and depends in no small part on the ways you were conditioned to be freaked out as a kid.

And so damn well, too! What a very, very, very good band .

You'll have the check in with CJ - she was up playing tambourine with them last night.

Awesome first night of music tonight. Bruce Peninsula, Foggy Hogtown Boys, & Hoots and Hellmouth all totally delivered; great energy off the stage.

Have a hoot ! Keep the travelog alive!

Very sad. What an incredible player.

Happy birthday, Food Porn King .

Yep, a perfectly predictably wonderful time . The lineup was great across the board, but I think our kids were especially taken by That 1 Guy; our youngest had seen him before and is a big fan, but it was a new experience for our oldest.

The Whales Once Dubbed the "Devil Fish" Now Want Tourists to Tickle Their Tongues

They were once referred to as 'devil fish' for the way they attacked whalers, but these enormous grey whales are now dubbed 'the friendliest in the world' as they rest their heads on boats and demand to be tickled.

These pictures show the 45-feet-long adult whales happily allowing their backs and tongues to be scratched.

The whales also encourage their young calves to approach boats, and if their bid to be touched goes unnoticed they swim along to more tourists in the hope of getting attention.

The playful whales even swim under boats and lift them out of the water, thrilling tourists.

Local fishermen who lead the boat tours in San Ignacio, Mexico, have become so used to living with the whales they now refer to them as 'friendlies'.

Zoologist and television presenter Mark Carwardine, 51, photographed the whales while on a trip to the Central American country.

'Seventy years ago these whales were being viciously hunted and they fought back aggressively,' Mr Carwardine said.

'They would smash boats with their tails and leap on them, so they became known locally as devil fish.'

Since the late 1930s the species has been protected and numbers have gone from just 100 - placing them at risk of extinction - to 26,000.

'They know the local fishermen are no longer a threat and have become the friendliest whales in the world,' he said.

'They come up to these small fibreglass boats, which are a few metres long, and place their chins on the side to be scratched and tickled.

'They also encourage their calves to do the same. It is very much like a dog sitting at your feet near the fire.'

'I would never normally agree with touching wildlife but these whales demand to be touched - they really enjoy it and come to you.

Mr Carwardine has travelled to the region for the past 20 years.

'People are in tears and feel overwhelmed by the experience,' he said.

The whales arrive in the lagoons in late December or early January leave around May, when they head back up to the Arctic to feed.

They make the migration, which is a 12,500 mile round-trip, every year.

The calves are weaned on the Arctic feeding grounds and are left to make their own way back to the breeding lagoons the following year.

I don't remember this scene in Finding Nemo.

How the Male Anglerfish Gets Completely Screwed

Check out Davey Boy 2.0's review for the bons mots on the Bluesfest show. I thought he was spot on (Truckin' gaffe aside) through the whole set at Ottawa. Rumours are stupid things to have to deal with. It does say something that he look so frustrated with himself, but damned if I haven't been there a million times before.

As a fellow semi-occasional lurker, I say Hello too . No Phish shows this summer here (Bluesfest was damn good, mind ya), but Guelah Papyrus did come on my random shuffle this morning.

"Rabbit-Fearing" German Teacher Loses Case against Pupil

A German court has thrown out the case of a schoolteacher against a pupil who had allegedly been tormenting her by scrawling pictures of rabbits on the blackboard.

The teacher claimed that the pupil was abusing her by playing on her fear of rabbits.

The court in Vechta, northern Germany declined to hear the complaint of the teacher, who was seeking an injunction against the 14-year-old girl to stop her from making the drawings or claiming the plaintiff had a paralysing fear of rabbits.

"The plaintiff now has a month to appeal the verdict," said Mechthild Beckermann, the court's chief judge.

Witnesses had told the judge that the teacher ran sobbing out of the classroom when she saw the image of a rabbit on the blackboard.

The girl denied making the drawings.

Two years ago at another school, the teacher took a pupil to court and reached a settlement in which the teenager agreed never again to claim that the plaintiff "freaked out" when she saw a rabbit or heard the word.