- African nations with significant Muslim leanings are
typically not thought of as progressive and sexually liberal. Tunisia, the
largely moderate North African country, is flying in the face of conventional
thought and doing so because its young women are fleeing for Syria on “sexual
jihad.” Yes, you read that right, a sexual jihad. The technical Arabic term (jihad
al-nikah) for the phenomenon describes a trend evident in other Arab
countries as well, of women traveling to the battlefield to provide comfort—and
sexual favors—for the rebel fighters. You could even call them jihad groupies,
without the über-teased hair, leather mini-skirts and fishnet stockings. Tunisian
Interior Minister Lofti Ben Jeddou lamented the trend during a national
security address to members of the National Constituent Assembly and laid out
the case against these border-jumping jihad sluts. “They have sexual relations
with 20, 30, 100 militants,” Jeddou said. “After the sexual liaisons they have
there in the name of ‘jihad al-nikah,’ they come home pregnant.” The number of
Tunisian men flocking to Syria to fight alongside rebels in the country’s more
than two-year-long, bloody civil war has reahced into the hundreds and the
Tunisian government has struggled to stem the tide of would-be freedom fighters
leaving for the battlefield, but no one seems to have expected Tunisia’s ladies
doing the same. Oddly enough, some hardline jihadists consider the practice a
legitimate complement to Holy War. Perhaps those recruiting for Holy War involvement
should put this on their recruitment brochures because it might snag them a few
of the top recruits every season. So far, according to Jeddou, the Tunisian
government has prevented some 6,000 of its citizens from traveling to Syria.
Here’s hoping it was the ugly ones……..
- Most college athletes who take money or benefits under the
table are at least covert about it. They accept their illegal perks and bennies
and pretend it never happened, but that trend may be changing. A few weeks ago,
former Alabama tackle and current San Diego Chargers rookie D.J. Fluker was
accused of having accepted thousands of dollars in benefits while at Alabama
and a past Twitter post all but confirmed the story. Houston Texans All-Pro
running back Arian Foster has done
Fluker one better, saying in an interview that he received cash from a booster
while at the University of Tennessee and admitting his doesn’t give a damn what
ramipercussions are for the university. "I don't know if this will throw
us into an NCAA investigation -- my senior year (2008), I was getting money on
the side," Foster said. He went on to say that he was in a position where
he had to choose between paying rent and buying food and does not believe he
did anything wrong by taking the money. In fact, Foster hopes his case launches
a discussion and ultimately a change in what he views as the sham-tastic way
the idea of amateurism in college sports exists. “I feel like I shouldn't have
to run from the NCAA anymore. They're like these big bullies. I'm not scared of
them,” Foster added. He recalled a time when he called one of his coaches and
told him he either needed money or he was “gonna go do something stupid.” The
coach’s response was to buy Foster and three others 50 tacos, Foster said. His
alleged indiscretions came when Foster played at Tennessee from 2005-08 under
Hall of Fame coach Phillip Fulmer. Foster insisted he did not accept money
directly from coaches, but noted that there were always people around the
program willing to help him financially. Tennessee remains on NCAA probation
through Aug. 23, 2015 and these allegations could result in further sanctions
if the NCAA investigates and finds them to be true. Whether Foster
revolutionizes the world of college athletics or not remains to be seen, but the
NCAA may want to consider addressing what is clearly a bigger issue than it has
been willing to admit………
- Snakes are creepy. Robots can be as well. So why not blend
the two….and then send the resulting hybrid to Mars? Researchers at the SINTEF Research
Institute in Norway and at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology
have asked that question and answered it by developing a plan for a new type of
Mars exploration robot. Aksel Transeth, a senior research scientist at SINTEF,
is leading a feasibility study for the European Space Agency, examining how a
snake robot would fare on Mars. "We started the study back in June and
will finish sometime in December," Transeth said. “"Biological snakes
can climb rocks and slide through small hole. Imagine if you could have a snake
trained to find people in fallen down buildings." He and his colleagues
are hopeful that they will be able to develop a prototype within a few months.
His past work has focused largely on how to make snake robots more efficient on
Earth in search and rescue missions, but developing sh*t for outer space is
always more exciting. On Mars, a snakebot could conceivably reach places that
other rovers could not dare to venture. It could visit cliffs and peer under
overhangs, find small crevasses and explore the interior to find valuable
samples of minerals and rocks. Getting to that point won't be easy and will
require much work on the part of snakebot researchers (yes, there is a
community of these folks), who have struggled to figure out how their creations
can function in bumpy and highly confined spaces on Earth. Mars would present
different challenges because it is colder and has less gravity than Earth, both
of which could impact how the robot behaves. As such, a snake robot would
likely have to be tethered to some sort of power source to function on Mars. Obstacles
or not, at least the snakebot dream is still alive………
- Freddie Mercury was flamboyant, he was eccentric and he
DEFINITELY should not be brought to life on the big screen by Harry Potter. Producers
for the forthcoming
biopic of the late Queen frontman need to keep that in mind now that the wildly
overrated Sacha Baron Cohen has self-ejected from the role. Cohen is out
because he and Queen, who have script and director approval, were unable to
agree on the type of movie they wanted to make. Never mind the fact that Cohen
should have kept his mouth shut and been grateful that his relative lack of
acting talent was allowed anywhere near what could have been the role of his
lifetime, because the bigger issue is the leading candidate to replace him in
the role. Producers have reportedly identified none other than the wizarding
one himself, “Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe, as their top choice to
portray Mercury. On the surface, swapping out Borat for Harry Potter seems like
a lateral move and maybe even a slight upgrade, but there really couldn’t be a
less rock-and-roll persona than Radcliffe. Still, a source close to the project
said that Radcliffe has “been told the part is his if he wants it.” That same
source went on to say that the young actor impressed movie bosses with his
portrayal of gay poet Allen Ginsburg in this year's movie “Kill Your Darlings”
and therefore is well-equipped to play the gay frontman of an iconic glam rock
band. Additionally, a 5-foot-5, Radcliffe is closer in height to Mercury
(5-foot-9) than the über-tall and gangly Cohen. That the film is still going to
happen is a departure from what screenwriter Peter Morgan said earlier this
month after Cohen’s departure, point out that the movie was "probably not
going to happen.” Whether him being wrong is a positive development or not is
still extremely questionable……….
- Did you celebrate Park(ing) Day on Friday? Do you even
know what Park(ing) Day is? If you missed it this year, you now have 363 days
to ramp up for next year’s celebration of an event that honors a global movement to turn metered parking
spots into temporary parks. It seems short-sighted and a total waste of time
and energy, but the concept is slowly catching on in places such as Hartford,
Conn., where three civic organizations teamed up to bring eight public parks in
downtown Hartford to metered parking places on Trumbull, Pearl, Pratt and Main
Streets. "Everyone is thinking about a more walkable city, a more greener
city, a more livable city," Tim Yergeau, of the Greater Hartford Arts
Council said. "This was a perfect tie-in." Yergeau’s commets are
excellent because he’s ignoring the fact that a) the increased green space was
a total gimmick that lasted for less than a day and b) he and his co-organizers
didn’t exactly create Central Park in the middle of a fly-over Connecticut city
that didn’t really draw in hordes of interested visitors because of Park(ing)
Day. As part of the event, organizers set up a general information area on
Asylum Street for people to learn more about the movement. This was the first
year for Park(ing) Day in Hartford, so many people who happened to
stumble across the downtown area on Friday and wondered why there were suddenly
patches of green grass temporarily dropped in the middle of their fine city had
no idea what was going on. At least one woman knew exactly how to make use of
the new green space, even if event officials put a stop to her attempt to
capitalize on one of the grass patches by having her dog, um, freshen it up. "I had to ask a woman not to let her
dog pee on one of the spots this morning," Yergeau said. Stay
classy, Hartford…….
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