Saturday - December 10, 2011

When Even Muslims Go Too Far

An Islamic cleric living in Europe reportedly has warned Muslim women not to get too close to bananas, cucumbers or other produce—to avoid having “sexual thoughts.”

The unnamed cleric, whose directive was featured in an article in el-Senousa, a religious publication, purportedly said that if women wanted to eat these foods, a third party—preferably a male related to them, such as their father or husband—should cut the items into small pieces before serving, the Egyptian website Bikya Masr reported.

Carrots and zucchini also were added to the alleged cleric’s list of forbidden foods for women.

News of the statement quickly spread online, leaving many liberal Muslims embarrassed and angry, evoking a flurry of mockery in online forums.

“Many of the commentators are Muslims themselves, who have expressed their anger against the cleric for making Islamic religious practices appear unreasonable,” The International Business Times reported.

BikyaMasr.com said the cleric, identified only as a sheikh, was asked in the interview how to “control” women when they are shopping for groceries, and whether holding these items at the market would be bad, to which he replied that the matter was between them and God.

It took this for them to wake up to the unreasonable aspects of pizzlam? Tad bit slow, doncha think? About 1300 years slow, I’d say.

Yet they don’t seem to have any outrage that the question arose during the interview about how to control women while they’re shopping. (Go on, say it, I know you want to!) And worries about fondling the veggies; that’s an honest concern, right?

Hey muzzies, sometimes a cucumber is just a cucumber.

Personally, I think they ought to be more concerned about the glee she shows in the kitchen whacking these vegetables into little pieces. I guess perhaps they are, which is why they gave that duty to the men ... which is either rather gay, or symbolic of something. Or both. Chop chop.

Posted by Drew458     on 12/10/2011 at 10:25 AM   
Filed Under: • RoPMA •  
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the new religion of human rights rules the day

From time to time when reading comments on line from various newspapers here in the UK, there will always be someone and this is a fact writ in stone, who will say that America has become a laughing stock all over the world.  Sometimes they will say merely in the civilized world, but always the phrase, ‘laughingstock.’ It’s used anytime we make a mistake of some kind, or when something is really seriously out of order.  Or it may be the latest gun crime. 
Of course I think they’re just on the bash the USA bandwagon which is popular in every generation except for the 2nd war. And even then many point a finger of (unfair) accusation that we arrived a bit late in the show.  Others accuse us of overcharging for the second hand equipment supplied before we did get in. They say we led Britain to financial ruin by insisting we get paid for things sent.  Seems like a very Bolshie attitude to me.

So anyway … this is not about lend lease and WW2. My mind just drifted there momentarily.  No.
This is all about being a laughing stock. Which we are not but that doesn’t matter at this moment. The question is … does this story make Britain itself a laughing stock?
Could this story ever appear in an American newspaper? Would the USA be this stupid on our very worst of days?  The correct answer is no to both.  I just can not bring myself to believe we’d ever do this to ourselves.  Of course, I need to be careful in my predictions.  I wasn’t thinking of America’s 5th column on the left when I wrote that line.

Since I started writing this, I’ve had a change of heart and mind.  No. On second thought Britain isn’t a laughing stock, even with this not very funny article.

Talk about times that try.  Try getting your head around this one dear reader.

Home Office told to bring asylum family back to UK – but they may again deport them. (and pay them thousands)

A judge has ordered the Home Office to bring back a family of asylum seekers it removed nearly six years ago – even though they may then be deported a second time.

By Tom Whitehead, Home Affairs Editor

The family of five Sri Lankans were removed in 2006 but the High Court ruled they were unlawfully detained during the process and demanded they be brought back.
The court made the judgment even though it accepted it was uncertain once they had been returned and dealt with appropriately that they would be allowed to stay in the UK.

As well as the cost of returning the family, who are currently living in Germany, the Home Office was also ordered to pay £37,000 in compensation.
One critic last night said it was like something out of Alice in Wonderland.
The case echoes a ruling in 2006 when the High Court said the Home Office must return a family it had already removed because it had not fully dealt with one member’s appeal.

In the latest ruling, Mr Justice Cranston said the Sri Lankan families rights had been violated in the way they had been dealt with.
Manjit Gill QC, representing the family in court, said they were taken from their beds and flown out of the country after being denied access to legal advice.
The QC said the family, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, had their north London home raided at about 2am on January 10, 2006 by immigration and police officers.

A few hours after being detained, they were put on a 7.50am flight to Germany.  The Home Office has now accepted they were unlawfully detained and the court said they must be brought back.
The judge said the violation of the rights of the husband, his mentally-ill wife and their son and two daughters, now aged between 14 and 23, entitled them to return to the UK, if they so wished.

But he added that the issue of whether they are then allowed to stay was not a matter for the court.
The family were flown to Germany because that was the first EU country they arrived in.

Under a policy known as the Dublin Agreement, member states can require the first country of entry of an asylum seeker to deal with their claim.
It is possible that even when the family is brought back to the UK that it will still be decided Germany is the appropriate country to handle the claim for shelter, meaning the family will be sent back there.

Sir Andrew Green, chairman of Migration Watch UK, said: “This is straight out of Alice in Wonderland but at enormous cost to the British taxpayer.
“This family must be detained strictly in accordance with the law and removed again to Germany which had an obligation to deal with the case.”

Lawyers for the family said today the ruling was “a tremendous relief” to the family, and they would be returning to the UK – “which is something they have been longing for for nearly six years”.

Mr Gill said their treatment was all the more outrageous because, had the correct procedures been adopted, it was inevitable that they would have been able to make an application to remain in the country on human rights grounds.

A UK Border Agency spokesman said: “We are disappointed with this decision and will be looking carefully at our next steps.
“We cannot comment on the details of the individual case for legal reasons.”

source

Posted by peiper     on 12/10/2011 at 04:57 AM   
Filed Under: • CULTURE IN DECLINE • Judges-Courts-Lawyers • UK •  
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   Friday - December 09, 2011

In my inbox

Reader Dave sends me a classic ....

*Why we shoot deer in the wild*

(A letter from someone who wants to remain anonymous, who farms, writes well and actually tried this.)

I had this idea that I could rope a deer, put it in a stall, feed it up on corn for a couple of weeks, then kill it and eat it. The first step in this adventure was getting a deer. I figured that, since they congregate at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of me when we are there (a bold one will sometimes come right up and sniff at the bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck not 4 feet away), it should not be difficult to rope one, get up to it and toss a bag over its head (to calm it down) then hog tie it and transport it home.

I filled the cattle feeder then hid down at the end with my rope. The cattle, having seen the roping thing before, stayed well back. They were not having any of it. After about 20 minutes, my deer showed up—3 of them. I picked out a likely looking one, stepped out from the end of the feeder, and threw my rope. The deer just stood there and stared at me. I wrapped the rope around my waist and twisted the end so I would have a good hold ...

The deer still just stood and stared at me, but you could tell it was mildly concerned about the whole rope situation. I took a step towards it, it took a step away. I put a little tension on the rope ... and then received an education. The first thing that I learned is that, while a deer may just stand there looking at you funny while you rope it, they are spurred to action when you start pulling on that rope.

That deer EXPLODED. The second thing I learned is that pound for pound, a deer is a LOT stronger than a cow or a colt. A cow or a colt in that weight range I could fight down with a rope and with some dignity. A deer—no chance. That thing ran and bucked and twisted and pulled. There was no controlling it and certainly no getting close to it. As it jerked me off my feet and started dragging me across the ground, it occurred to me that having a deer on a rope was not nearly as good an idea as I had originally imagined.. The only upside is that they do not have as much stamina as many other animals.

A brief 10 minutes later, it was tired and not nearly as quick to jerk me off my feet and drag me when I managed to get up. It took me a few minutes to realize this, since I was mostly blinded by the blood flowing out of the big gash in my head. At that point, I had lost my taste for corn-fed venison. I just wanted to get that devil creature off the end of that rope.

I figured if I just let it go with the rope hanging around its neck, it would likely die slow and painfully somewhere. At the time, there was no love at all between me and that deer. At that moment, I hated the thing, and I would venture a guess that the feeling was mutual. Despite the gash in my head and the several large knots where I had cleverly arrested the deer’s momentum by bracing my head against various large rocks as it dragged me across the ground, I could still think clearly enough to recognize that there was a small chance that I shared some tiny amount of responsibility for the situation we were in.
I didn’t want the deer to have to suffer a slow death, so I managed to get it lined back up in between my truck and the feeder - a little trap I had set before hand...kind of like a squeeze chute. I got it to back in there and I started moving up so I could get my rope back.

Did you know that deer bite?

They do! I never in a million years would have thought that a deer would bite somebody, so I was very surprised when ... I reached up there to grab that rope and the deer grabbed hold of my wrist. Now, when a deer bites you, it is not like being bit by a horse where they just bite you and slide off to then let go. A deer bites you and shakes its head—almost like a pit bull. They bite HARD and it hurts.

The proper thing to do when a deer bites you is probably to freeze and draw back slowly. I tried screaming and shaking instead. My method was ineffective.

It seems like the deer was biting and shaking for several minutes, but it was likely only several seconds. I, being smarter than a deer (though you may be questioning that claim by now), tricked it. While I kept it busy tearing the tendons out of my right arm, I reached up with my left hand and pulled that rope loose.

That was when I got my final lesson in deer behavior for the day.

Deer will strike at you with their front feet. They rear right up on their back feet and strike right about head and shoulder level, and their hooves are surprisingly sharp ... I learned a long time ago that, when an animal like a horse strikes at you with their hooves and you can’t get away easily, the best thing to do is try to make a loud noise and make an aggressive move towards the animal. This will usually cause them to back down a bit so you can escape.  This was not a horse. This was a deer, so obviously, such trickery would not work. In the course of a millisecond, I devised a different strategy. I screamed like a woman and tried to turn and run. The reason I had always been told NOT to try to turn and run from a horse that paws at you is that there is a good chance that it will hit you in the back of the head. Deer may not be so different from horses after all, besides being twice as strong and 3 times as evil, because the second I turned to run, it hit me right in the back of the head and knocked me down.

Now, when a deer paws at you and knocks you down, it does not immediately leave. I suspect it does not recognize that the danger has passed. What they do instead is paw your back and jump up and down on you while you are laying there crying like a little girl and covering your head.

I finally managed to crawl under the truck and the deer went away.

So now I know why when people go deer hunting they bring a rifle with a scope ... to sort of even the odds!!

Posted by Drew458     on 12/09/2011 at 05:35 PM   
Filed Under: • Humor •  
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Happy Seasonal Celebration Greeting From PC Land North

Posted by Drew458     on 12/09/2011 at 05:29 PM   
Filed Under: • Humor • Politically Correct B.S. •  
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some brit weather global warming not withstanding and it’s darn cold here in the south

From gorebal warming to:

In one spectacular incident yesterday a 300ft wind turbine exploded in flames as it was buffeted by the high winds.

Another wind turbine was completely blown down on Wednesday, raising questions about the ability of wind farms to cope with the weather.

The flaming £2million wind turbine was in Ardrossan, North Ayrshire, Scotland. Witnesses said its blades were locked at the time, because the National Grid would be unable to cope with a sudden power surge.

Photographer Stuart McMahon, who took the incredible image, said: ‘The centre of the turbine caught fire first and the flames spread to the covering of the blades.

‘There was burning debris being swept off in the wind and across the fields. These are huge structures and to see one on fire was a spectacular sight.’

The turbine knocked over by high winds near Coldingham in the Borders caused several homes to be evacuated and a road to be closed.

possible white christmas?

There were winds reported up north, Scotland, of 165 mph. No where near that here. Thankfully. 

Posted by peiper     on 12/09/2011 at 02:46 PM   
Filed Under: • UK •  
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Feels Like It’s Clobberin’ Time

Arrogance Times Two

At the high end, we’ve got Fearless Reader, who thinks he’s all that and a bag of chips because he himself didn’t give the order to stop the military from offing Bin Laden. Now he’s all Big and Bad and pulling that one out of his ass when the Repubs mildly point out that he goes down on his knees in a flash to fellate our enemies.

President Barack Obama is firmly rejecting Republican accusations that he has engaged in an ‘appeasement’ foreign policy. He says: “Ask Usama bin Laden.”

Republican presidential candidates have been critical of Obama’s foreign policy, especially in the Middle East. Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania on Wednesday said Obama’s policy toward radical Islamists “has been nothing but appeasement.”

At the low end, we’ve got Justin Bieber, that dribble of Canadian maple syrup, resurrecting Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” abstinence campaign with a personal twist: now it’s “Just Say Justin”. He’s taped a video message to all his tweener fan’s dads, telling them how it’s cool that their blossoming baby is busy learning to pleasure herself while dreaming of him. Seriously. I am not kidding. It’s actually a commercial for his new fragrance, which is perhaps even more annoying.

In the clip, Bieber insists it’s fine for fathers to let their daughters obsess over a famous pop star as it will stop them having a crush on the boy next door.

He says, “Hey Dad, it’s Justin, your daughter wanted us to chat. I feel like we got off on the wrong foot, I mean I get it, I’m a huge mega star, I got a full head of hair, you know, I get it.”

“But it could be a lot worse. Think about it. Guys her age… Well, remember when you were her age? Yeah, exactly… Hey, I’m a great distraction. She won’t even think about him ... and someday you might even thank me.”

“So next time you hear her scream my name, relax. It’s better than hearing her scream ‘Joey’ who lives next door. Am I right?”

I want to beat the crap out of him just for the sheer chutzpah he’s showing, and I don’t even have daughters. It doesn’t matter if he’s right or if it’s a good idea. It’s just that my reflex reaction to that level of nerve is dealing out a couple of black eyes and a busted lip. Oh, it was only light-hearted comedy? Gosh, I must have missed that. But to be fair, it was only a light-hearted beating, so we’re even, am I right?

Posted by Drew458     on 12/09/2011 at 12:08 PM   
Filed Under: • Hollywood • Obama, The One • Stoopid-People •  
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Under Pressure

We lost 3-4 in Cheap League. That really bugs me.

We played the half team in a position round. Instead of 4, they have just a father and his son and 2 vacancies. Vacancy scores never help your team any when things go right, but they’re a blessing when things go wrong. A steady 130 pins each per game, no matter what.

So we gave that team a big fat handicap, something like 108 pins. So they got 36 or 37 pins per frame for free. That can make a psychological barrier that’s hard to surmount, but I don’t think it did. I think my team just had a crappy night. I threw Ok in the first game, going a few points over average, and we won that one handily. I threw great in Game 2, scoring a 210, and earning myself $8 in strike ball which I qualified for from last weeks 258 ( highest over average game each week bowls for a prize next week. For a chosen frame, a strike gets you $20, or else $1 per pin. I threw an 8 ). But the rest of my team didn’t rise to the occasion and we lost.  At that point lane conditions went south, and Game 3 became a nightmare. I could not find the right adjustment, so even though I was throwing the lines I was trying for, and hooking the ball right into the pocket time after time after time, I wasn’t getting any strikes. Worse, I was getting nasty splits and odd single leaves. This turn it was the 10, next time the 4, then the 9 the turn after that, followed by a 2-9 split. I made most of them, whoopee, but it was most vexing. And this was happening for everyone. Once again the other team muddled through better than we did, so they won that one. The best we could fight back was to limit their lead so that we wound up taking the wood by a mere 17. Arrgh. Rotten night.

I don’t know how to beat the lanes when this kind of thing happens, and that’s quite frustrating. Damnation! I was putting the ball right into the pocket every friggin’ throw, with a good angle and with a decent amount of turn on the ball. And crap was the result every time!! GRRRR!!!!  And it is difficult to slough off that frustration, because I’m highly competitive. But I did my best to do so. If I can manage it I’ll try to get up there today for a bit of practice, and maybe I can find somebody to show me the way if it exists. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and use my spare ball to throw a straight ball game in those conditions. I’d hate that, but you do what you have to do.

After league we played a quick game on another lane that hadn’t been burned up for the leagues. We all threw great. So it’s a matter of our team learning how to bowl more effectively when the lanes are stale. 

Posted by Drew458     on 12/09/2011 at 11:03 AM   
Filed Under: • Bowling Blogging •  
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oh the poor dear boy. pity,pity. he’s 17 and his date looks like this.

BMEWS readers can be hard to read sometimes. I’m never quite certain if what interests me and gets posted, is what many of you have any interest in.
The posts that appear to generate the greatest amount of reader comments here, are usually guns, weapons of all types Gun Porn is a favorite. Oh yeah. And girls with guns so long as they aren’t pointed at us.  Even eye candy doesn’t usually get many comments from you, although there must be interest because that column on the right always seems to increase with lurkers.  So it is you might say, pot luck. 

My post at the moment is closer to eye candy then it is gun porn. In fact, guns do not even enter into it.  Sorry.

This is all about (to my way of thinking) how little most women (or at least Ms.Moir) actually know about males and male sexuality. And clearly nothing at all about a healthy, straight 17 year young man who she describes as, “a child.”
Well please forgive what may seem crude and unseemly on my part but.
Women like Moir and feminists in general know little and do not care to understand, what it’s like to be a 17 year old male with an erection.  Of course not. 

The crime here I guess is …. the young man is apparently dating this bit of super fluff. And she’s 32.  Gasp. But he’s just a child. Well lucky babe.

Now please indulge me.  Here’s Moir’s lead story in the Mail this morning.

Boys beware. Predatory women (like Caroline Flack) are on the prowl
By JAN MOIR

No doubt about it. Caroline Flack is a babe. Lots of men are attracted to her. Particularly when she poses in her leopard-print body-stocking and opaque tights, like Miss January in a bargain basement Rank starlet calendar from 1962.

Luvvly jubbly. As they no doubt say.

In reality, she is a seasoned presenter of the fluffiest of fluff shows. At the moment, she co-hosts ITV2’s The Xtra Factor.

She is also dating a pop star. Well, why not? Caroline meets pop stars all day, every day.

She practically has to wade through a thicket of the blighters to get to work. So she knows the terrain well. 

A previous relationship, with the Holloways’ drummer, Dave Danger, ended after three years. Indeed, Prince Harry was one of those said to have comforted Caroline after the break up. She has no shortage of well-placed admirers.

So well done, Harry. Good to know that HRH’s caring doesn’t stop with his charity work. Or should that be his charity doesn’t stop with his caring? We digress.

The important thing is Caroline has dried her tears and moved on to fresh romantic pastures. With the emphasis on fresh.

For her current beau happens to be Harry Styles from One Direction. Yes, that Harry. In the dolly mixtures boyband line up, wee Harry — with his mop of chocolate curls and his river deep dimples — just happens to be the dolliest of the lot.

He’s adorable. He’s so cute. He looks like he should be wearing green velvet and scampering next to Santa in a Christmas grotto, feeding carrots to the reindeer.

However, there is one slight problem with the Caroline/Harry burgeoning relationship. One teensy hitch. And that is their ages. For Caroline is 32, while Harry is only 17. Basically, he is still a child.

No wonder people find their liaison inappropriate. Even slightly creepy.

more to see and read here

And something else she seems to ignore. Perhaps not intentionally but it’s good to keep in mind.  The subject male here is after all, a band member. Does she imagine he might be a virgin?  Females of different ages tend to throw themselves at bands. We read about it all the time.  And there are stories I could share of a personal nature from my years as a DJ and MC of country shows on weekends with major acts. Ladies are not always very lady like in the Jane Austen sense of, ladylike.  And mommy dear should be happy that in this day and age, Harry hasn’t asked for a gender change or confessed that his true love is named Steve.

Here’s a right on comment from someone at the Mail.  You may or may not agree.

What annoys me most about this story (and I’ve said this before) is the ‘outrage’ by mumsie type do gooders on young Harry’s behalf. LISTEN to me, the kid is living the dream, no one’s taking advantage of him, stop being so b***dy patronising. I’ll tell you this, any man who is not jealous of wee Harry is a liar !!! If you don’t believe me go and ask your other half, ask him to look you in the eye and tell you this wasn’t the ultimate fantasy when they were 17 ? Once you realise I’m right you can move on and keep your beaks out of other peoples business !
- Iain, Glasgow

Posted by peiper     on 12/09/2011 at 10:29 AM   
Filed Under: • Eye-Candy • Sex •  
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Abandoned technology.

Whilst rooting around an hour ago to find a setting error that was the cause of some grief, I ran across this bit of amusement.
It isn’t rolling on the floor funny but there is something fun about it.  It’s clever but we have to take into consideration that the people in it are not professional actors.  But I think it’s worth it.
Have fun. I hope.

H/T CNET, UK

Abandoned technology speaks out in our chilling video
By Luke Westaway

• Abandoned technology speaks out
• |
• CNET UK

CNET,UK read more

Posted by peiper     on 12/09/2011 at 08:49 AM   
Filed Under: • Science-Technology •  
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i seriously screwed up a setting and have to trace and fix.

so until i can fix the damn problem, because i just had to try out the newer IE like a damn fool, i’m gonna be busy.
for some damn reason i can yet figure, photos are suddenly being downloaded via IE which is nothing intended. and IE freezes and hangs and is crap anyway.

Posted by peiper     on 12/09/2011 at 07:35 AM   
Filed Under: • Miscellaneous •  
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you just knew this was coming. didn’t you?

PEDAL POWER

I couldn’t make it up. But no surprise either.

This year, Milan citizens are being encouraged to pedal on bicycle generators set up in front of the famous opera house to provide green power for the theater.

It’s difficult to imagine the privileged owners of tickets to tonight’s event taking part in the echo-initiative in their Valentino dresses, furs and tuxedos.

It is the most exclusive night in Italy’s social calendar, it is, for aristocrats and celebs who can afford the $2,400 for a ticket. 

(source, iNewspaper)

Posted by peiper     on 12/09/2011 at 07:18 AM   
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   Thursday - December 08, 2011

Oh No Not Again

UPDATE: Shooter was not a student, wasn’t the driver of the car either

Authorities investigating the deadly shooting Thursday at Virginia Tech say there is no apparent connection between the still-unidentified gunman—who apparently took his own life—and his victim, a 39-year-old campus police officer and father of five.

The male suspect shot and killed Virginia Tech police officer Deriek Crouse in a parking lot Thursday afternoon before killing himself with the same handgun about a half-mile away, school officials said during a press conference Friday.

Crouse was killed after pulling over a Virginia Tech student in a traffic stop at around 12:15 p.m. Authorities said the gunman—who was not involved in the traffic stop—walked into the parking lot adjacent to the Cassell Coliseum and ambushed the officer. Crouse was unable to return fire, according to officials.

Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said authorities are “very confident” they know the identity of the shooter but are waiting to release his name until his next-of-kin is notified. They believe he acted alone.

Geller would not comment on whether the assailant had any known criminal record or history of mental illness.

She said the motive in the shooting is still under investigation. She also would not confirm reports that the shooter stole a vehicle in Ratford, Va., before driving to the Virginia Tech campus in Leesburg.

“We have not made an absolute connection that he stole the vehicle,” Geller said. 

Larry Hincker, Virginia Tech’s associate vice president of university relations, confirmed that the suspect was not a student at the school.

A police officer has been shot and killed on Virginia Tech’s campus during a routine traffic stop, according to the university. A second victim was found dead at another campus parking lot. The suspect is described as a white male wearing a maroon hoodie, and his whereabouts are currently unknown. The shootings occurred shortly after noon.

Students are asked to stay indoors for now as hundreds of police officers are searching and securing campus buildings and public areas. Area K-12 schools were on lockdown, but are now releasing students.

“We’re looking absolutely everywhere for the person who fits the description,” Mark Owczarski, Virginia Tech spokesman, said at a mid afternoon press conference. Students are not in class today because exams were set for tomorrow, he said. Those exams are now postponed. “It’s a very tragic day.”

The whereabouts of the gunman remains unknown. The suspect, according to an earlier posting on the school’s website, is described as a white male wearing gray sweatpants and a gray hat with a neon green brim.

University officials have scheduled a 4:30 p.m. media briefing.

“Several law enforcement agencies have responded to assist,” read a posting on the school’s website. “Virginia State Police has been requested to take lead in the investigation.”

Messages seeking comment from school officials were not immediately returned.

“There is an active campus alert in Blacksburg,” read a notice on the school’s website. “Everyone should seek shelter or stay where you are. Blacksburg Transit service is suspended until the alert is lifted.”

More details as they emerge.

Posted by Drew458     on 12/08/2011 at 04:26 PM   
Filed Under: • Colleges-Professors • Crime •  
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A & R Thursday: Bewitching

Engineers have said they were “stunned” to unearth a 17th Century cottage, complete with a mummified cat, during a construction project in Lancashire.

The cottage was discovered near Lower Black Moss reservoir in the village of Barley, in the shadow of Pendle Hill.

Archaeologists brought in by United Utilities to survey the area found the building under a grass mound.

Historians are now speculating that the well-preserved cottage could have belonged to one of the Pendle witches.

The building contained a sealed room, with a mummified cat bricked into the wall.

It is believed the cat was buried alive to protect the cottage’s inhabitants from evil spirits.

Simon Entwistle, an expert on the Pendle Witches, said: “Cats feature prominently in folklore about witches. Whoever consigned this cat to such a horrible fate was clearly seeking protection from evil spirits.

“We’re just a few months away from the 400th anniversary of the Pendle Witch trials, and here we have an incredibly rare find, which could well be the famous Malkin Tower.”

The tower was said to be the site of a notorious meeting between the witches on Good Friday in 1612.

Frank Giecco, from NP Archaeology, who unearthed the building, said: “It’s like discovering your own little Pompeii. We rarely get the opportunity to work with something so well preserved.
The remains of the building The engineering project has been put on hold while archaeologists investigate the site

“As soon as we started digging, we found the tops of doors, and knew we were on to something special.

“The building is a microcosm for the rise and fall of this area, from the time of the Pendle witches to the industrial age. There are layers of local history right before your eyes.”

The engineering project has been put on hold while the archaeologists complete their investigation of the site.

For us Yanks unedumacated in English history, the Pendle Witches outdid our Salem witches by about 5 to 1. Not only were there lots more of them, they were put on trial a good 2 decades before the Salem trials, and at least as many were put to death. And the evidence against them was even flimsier; you can’t even blame hallucinogenic moldy bread.

Pratchett fans, follow the Pendle Witches link and look at the names. I did not realize that the book old Terry wrote with Neil Gaiman, Good Omens, was sort of a tribute to these folks, but then I don’t spend my life looking up every last little thing. But the names from history sure set bells a-ringing. Agnes Nutter, Anathema Device ... I don’t know who the WitchFinder, General or otherwise, was during the Pendle affair. And T.P. wins “most wretched joke ever” for the “I call my junky old car Dick Turpin” routine in that book.

Whatever. Very interesting that the cottage and/or the tower is still standing. I would have thought they would’ve been burned.




Speaking of things bewitching ...

GET ME OUT OF HERE ...

Posted by Drew458     on 12/08/2011 at 01:36 PM   
Filed Under: • Archeology / Anthropology • Eye-Candy •  
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Two Amongst Thousands

Former Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson, who pleaded guilty to extortion charges earlier this year, was sentenced Tuesday to more than seven years in prison.

Prosecutors called Johnson’s corruption scheme one of the most audacious in Maryland history.

Johnson, 62, pleaded guilty in May to federal charges of extortion and witness and evidence tampering, as well as taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from pay-to-play business dealings.

Johnson apologized at the hearing, saying he was “haunted” by his actions.

“I’ve lost everything—my reputation, all of the things I worked for,” he said.

U.S. District Court Judge Peter Messitte said he was not moved by the good deeds that Johnson and his lawyers had said he performed in office.

“If you’ve done them, good for you,” Messitte said. “That’s what you were elected to do. You were not elected to line your pockets. You were not elected to corrupt the system the way you did.”

Johnson was the executive of the county from 2002 to December 2010. Prior to that, he was the county’s state’s attorney and spent nearly a decade as an attorney for the IRS Office of Chief Counsel.

”Jack Johnson could have been a role model for integrity, but he chose to be a poster child for greed,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “The facts of this case read like a dime novel because the defendant acted as if corruption was the normal way of doing business. It is our responsibility to prove him wrong.”

Last month, state officials released wiretap recordings that helped convict Johnson and his wife, Leslie.

On the tapes, the couple can be heard frantically deciding what to do with a $100,000 bribery check. Leslie Johnson eventually flushes the check down a toilet. Her husband could then be heard telling her to put nearly $80,000 in cash in her panties.

He took a CHECK as a bribe? Wow, they breed a special kind of special child in that state, boy howdy. And 80 grand in cash in his wife’s underwear? My bet is she ain’t no size 4 to stash that pile of money. Don’t you know nothing girl? That kind of cash belongs in the freezer! Horry Clap.

More at this link too, and some audio from the phone taps is here.

h/t to Rodger

Posted by Drew458     on 12/08/2011 at 12:03 PM   
Filed Under: • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • Corruption and Greed •  
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