“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”
- Mark Twain.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
They Try To Make Me Go To Rehab So I Don't Blow, Blow, Blow.
The Times reports on a rehabilitation centre for Jihadists.
It has been called the Betty Ford clinic for jihadists and within minutes of arriving at the Care Rehabilitation Centre on the outskirts of Riyadh, you can see why. The small complex, where the Saudi Arabian government is exploring a new way of reforming its wayward radicals, feels more like an exclusive boarding school than a Saudi jail.
Inmates have access to swimming pools, table tennis and PlayStations. In the evenings, guards and prisoners play football. An air-conditioned tent sits adjacent to the sports field, serving as a dining hall and common room where, when I visited, the prisoners were tucking into rice and lamb with fresh fruit for pudding.
In return for this privileged treatment, the prisoners – Islamic extremists, some of whom are convicted murderers – are obliged to attend lessons based around Islamic law and the jurisprudence of jihad. A team of psychologists teaches detainees how they should manage their emotions, particularly when reacting to world events.
Art therapy classes help inmates to “reveal their softer side”. And it is not just the artwork that is surreal. It is quite a sight to see men in flowing robes, with unkempt beards and their trousers hoisted above their ankles, sit down with a pack of crayons to express themselves. “The unconscious mind holds a lot of things,” said the therapist.
The Saudi government insists all this is necessary to promote genuine rehabilitation and foster a meaningful relationship with the jihadists. But in the easy-going atmosphere of the “resort” – nobody calls it a prison – where inmates are referred to as “beneficiaries”, it is easy to forget the seriousness of some of their crimes.
The centre is divided into six areas, four of which hold Saudi nationals who fought (or tried to) in Iraq. The other two hold returnees from Guantanamo Bay.
The Origins of Your Favorite Condiments.
From Mental Floss:
Ketchup
The word “ketchup” comes from the Chinese “ke-tsiap,” and if you’re wondering why ketchup isn’t used in Chinese food, well, there’s your story. Ke-tsiap wasn’t at all like ketchup. It was a sauce made from pickled fish that frankly wouldn’t taste so great on a burger – or in our opinion on much else. Nonetheless, it was popular enough to catch on in Malaysia, where it was called “kechap,” and Indonesia (“ketjap”), and to be honest it probably wasn’t as bad as it sounds; it’s been compared to soy sauce. When English and Dutch sailors made their way to the Far East in the 17th century, they “discovered” the sauce and brought some back with them. Homemade versions immediately became popular; Elizabeth Smith’s The Compleat Housewife (copyright 1727) called for anchovies, shallots, vinegar, white wine, cloves, ginger, mace, nutmeg, pepper, and lemon peel.
Note the lack of tomatoes in that recipe. In the grand East-meets-West tradition of fusion cuisine, someone thought to add tomatoes to ke-tsiap in the early 1700s. The British counterpart of that person, by the way, went another direction and added mushrooms instead; you can still find mushroom ketchup at a few specialty retailers, and The New Joy of Cooking contains a recipe for the homemade stuff. Anyway, in both nations, the spelling also mutated around the same time; the first reference to “ketchup” appeared in 1711. This, too, caught on, and within 100 years or so ke-tsiap had acquired yet another regional name: tomato soy. Teresa Heinz Kerry’s great-great-great in-laws started selling a thin, salty version of the stuff in as “tomato ketchup” in 1876, and it was such a hit that eventually they just dropped the “tomato.”
Andy Dick Lives Up To His Name.
Andy Dick was arrested early Wednesday for investigation of drug use and sexual battery after the comedian allegedly pulled down a teenager's top, police said.
The former co-star of the TV sitcom "NewsRadio" was released from a detention center after posting $5,000 bail. Calls to his representatives seeking comment were not immediately returned.
Police were called to the Buffalo Wild Wings in Murrieta at about 1:13 a.m. to investigate a report of "an intoxicated male" urinating outside the bar and causing a disturbance, according to a police statement.
When they arrived, a 17-year-old girl told police that she was outside when Dick left the bar, walked up, "grabbed her tank top and bra and pulled them down and exposed her breasts," the statement said.
Friends escorted Dick to a truck, which officers stopped at a nearby Sam's Club, police said.
Dick was identified by the teenager and a witness, police said.
Marijuana and the drug Xanax were found his pants pockets during a search and he appeared "extremely intoxicated," police said.
Dick, 42, was booked at Southwest Detention Center in French Valley on suspicion of felony possession of a controlled substance, misdemeanor sexual battery and misdemeanor possession of marijuana.
Man Cuts Off Own Head With Chainsaw.
A ‘vulnerable’ man cut off his own head with a chainsaw after being ordered to move out of his home to make way for developers, police believe.
David Phyall’s severed head was found beside the power tool inside his housing association flat shortly after receiving his eviction notice.
Detectives were today investigating the possibility that the 58-year-old killed himself rather than leave his home of eight years.
David Phyall's flat
He was the last resident living on an estate earmarked for demolition. All 71 surrounding flats were empty.
Paramedics and police made the gruesome find after receiving a 999 call.
An inquest is now being carried out into the exact cause of death and what had happened to Mr Phyall, described as ‘vulnerable’, beforehand.
It is understood police are not treating his death as suspicious.
Mr Phyall had lived in his flat at Bishopstoke in Eastleigh, Eastley, Hants, since 2000 and was fighting to stay there despite plans to bulldoze the entire area and rebuild it.
Many flats had already been boarded up.
Mr Phyall rented the property from Atlantic Housing Ltd.
He had been unhappy since the plans to level the flats and rebuild them were passed in 2006.
It is thought that he may have even been served with an eviction notice issued through the courts shortly before his death.
An inquest opened and adjourned by deputy central Hampshire coroner Simon Burge.
It listed the possible cause of death of Mr Phyall as ‘complete transaction of the neck’ and ‘chainsaw wound to the neck.’
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