What happened to just getting detention?

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Saudi schoolgirl sentenced to 90 lashes after assaulting headmistress
A schoolgirl in Saudi Arabia was sentenced to 90 lashes and two months in prison for assaulting her headmistress after a confrontation over a cell phone, sparking an outcry from a government-sponsored rights group.

Saudi Arabia's National Society for Human Rights said it is surprised by the verdict and called for the punishment be reconsidered, according to statement by the group. The verdict was handed down by a court in the eastern province city of Jubail as a punishment for the 13-year-old who allegedly assaulted her headmistress.
Don't expect any 'regime-changing' invasion any time soon. After all, they're our mates, ain't they?

Suffer little children - redux

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They've been condemned. Now they must be understood

All very interesting, with comparisons to the Bulger murder in 1993. Thing is, there was no evidence that the two children who murdered poor little James Bulger were psychopaths, but there is compelling evidence that at least one, if not both, of the Edlington torturers is already dangerously pyschopathic.

Good luck with the therapy.

Fat facts

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The myth of an ‘obesity tsunami’ - spiked
Everyone knows The Truth about obesity: we’re getting fatter each year. Our growing girth is termed everything from the ‘pandemic of the twenty-first century’ to an ‘obesity tsunami’. But the evidence is now flooding in from both America and England that obesity is the epidemic that never was.

Two studies produced by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) completely undermine the claims of an obesity epidemic.

Suicided

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The Guantánamo “Suicides”: A Camp Delta sergeant blows the whistle
As news of the deaths emerged the following day, the camp quickly went into lockdown. The authorities ordered nearly all the reporters at Guantánamo to leave and those en route to turn back. The commander at Guantánamo, Rear Admiral Harry Harris, then declared the deaths “suicides.” In an unusual move, he also used the announcement to attack the dead men. “I believe this was not an act of desperation,” he said, “but an act of asymmetrical warfare waged against us.”

Reporters accepted the official account, and even lawyers for the prisoners appeared to believe that they had killed themselves. Only the prisoners’ families in Saudi Arabia and Yemen rejected the notion.
Read the full, disturbing story.

Just the job!

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Could be worse. At least it's not The Proclaimers

The J-Walk Blog: Solar Bibles In Haiti
As international aid agencies rush food, water and medicine to Haiti's earthquake victims, a US faith-based group is sending Bibles to Haitians in their hour of need. Not just any Bible. These are solar-powered audible Bibles that can broadcast the holy scriptures in Haitian Creole to 300 people at a time. Called the "Proclaimer," the audio Bible delivers "digital quality" and is designed for "poor and illiterate people", the Faith Comes By Hearing group said.

The Green argument

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Eco-Insanity Dvorak Uncensored
Gordon Fleming and Shelly Cobb are your typical green California couple. Gordon recycles, reuses, and bikes to work. Shelly raises chickens in their backyard and worries if her sushi is local. They might live in eco-harmony – except Fleming claims Cobb is in a high priestess phase and Cobb counters that Fleming’s hot showers are too long. According to an unrepentant Fleming, “I like to see the water pouring down.”

The New York Times recently reported that they are not alone. Therapists say they are seeing a rise in bickering between couples and family members over how much they should adjust their lives to accommodate environmental issues. Apparently, it is driving some couples eco-insane.

They have Jesus in their sights

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U.S. Military Weapons Inscribed With Secret 'Jesus' Bible Codes
Coded references to New Testament Bible passages about Jesus Christ are inscribed on high-powered rifle sights provided to the United States military by a Michigan company, an ABC News investigation has found. The sights are used by U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and in the training of Iraqi and Afghan soldiers.

The maker of the sights, Trijicon, has a $660 million multi-year contract to provide up to 800,000 sights to the Marine Corps, and additional contracts to provide sights to the U.S. Army.