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Dubai court annuls marriage to 'bearded lady'

published by You on 11 February, 2010 - 15:16

An Arab country's ambassador to Dubai has had his marriage contract annulled after discovering the bride was cross-eyed and had facial hair.

The woman had worn an Islamic veil, known as the niqab, on the few occasions the couple had met.

The envoy, who has not been identified, told a Sharia court her mother had tricked him by showing him pictures of the bride's sister, Gulf News reported.

Read more @ BBC News

MI5 'knew Guantanamo detainee Binyam Mohamed was being tortured'

published by You on 10 February, 2010 - 19:29

MI5 knew that Binyam Mohamed, the former Guantanamo detainee, was being tortured by the CIA, a Court of Appeal judgment has revealed.

Evidence held by the Foreign Office, which had until now been kept secret, shows that the Security Service was aware that Mr Mohamed was deprived of sleep, "shackled" during interrogation and threatened with the idea that he might "disappear".

MI5 has also been accused of feeding questions to Mr Mohamed's interrogators, leading to accusations that it was “complicit” in his torture.

Read more @ The Telegraph

Why Obama did not release torture photos: They showed American Soldiers Rape Children

published by You on 9 February, 2010 - 02:06

Not exactly a pleasant story:

Media Ignores Real Controversy Behind Torture Photos; They Show Prison Guards Raping Children

The real reason behind Obama’s reversal of a decision to release the torture photos has been almost completely ignored by the corporate media - the fact that the photos show both US and Iraqi soldiers raping teenage boys in front of their mothers.

The Obama administration originally intended to release photos depicting torture and abuse of detainees in Afghanistan and Iraq by the end of May, following a court order arising out of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit first filed by the ACLU in 2004.

Bored to death? It can really happen!

published by You on 8 February, 2010 - 23:36

its true - I read it on the interwebs. and we all know everything on the interwebs is true.

look look, it really is true:

You really can be bored to death, study shows

It really is possible to be bored to death, scientists have found, after research showed those who live tedious lives are twice as likely to die young.

People who complain of “high levels” of boredom in their lives are at double the risk of dying from from heart disease or a stroke than those who find life entertaining, researchers at University College London found.

Of more than 7,000 civil servants who were monitored over 25 years, those who said they were bored were nearly 40 per cent more likely to have died by the end of the study than those who did not.

Can the power of thought stop you ageing?

published by You on 6 February, 2010 - 18:36

In 1979 psychologist Ellen Langer carried out an experiment to find if changing thought patterns could slow ageing. But the full story of the extraordinary experiment has been hidden until now.

How much control do you have over how you will age?

Many people would laugh at the idea that people could influence the state of their health in old age by positive thinking. A way of mitigating ageing is a holy grail for the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry, but an experiment by Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer three decades ago could hold significant clues.

Read more @ BBC News

"My father tried to make me into a suicide bomber"

published by You on 5 February, 2010 - 05:19

Well, that is the gist of the story over at BBC News:

Bombs and beatings: Life among the Taliban

In Pakistan an account of life with the Taliban has emerged from a 13-year-old girl called Meena, who says her own family tried to turn her into a suicide bomber.

There is no independent confirmation of her account but police say they believe she is telling the truth, and her information could be valuable.

Meena told her story to our Pakistan correspondent Orla Guerin.

My brother used to tell me that the place for a woman is either at home or in the grave. I was always restricted to home.

He said: "If you leave the house I'll cut off your head and put it on your chest."

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