Somali man, 112, marries 17-year-old girl
A crowd of hundreds attended the wedding between Ahmed Muhamed Dore and Safia Abdulleh in Guriceel, in the Galguduud region of Somalia. Mr Dore said: “Today God helped me realise my dream.”
Mr Dore and his teenage bride are from the same village, and he said that he had waited for her to grow up before proposing.
He said: “I didn’t force her, but used my experience to convince her of my love, and then we agreed to marry.”
The bride’s family said she was “happy with her new husband”.
At 95 years older than her – if his claimed age is accurate – he is old enough to be her great-great-great-grandfather.
He already has 18 children by his other five wives.
According to Somali historians, the wedding is the first of its kind in Somalia for over a century.
Derren Brown hits top 20 Twitter status – no sign of slowing up
Despite only having been on Twitter since shortly before The Events, the unusual but rapid climb of a certain handsomely dressed mind mingler has raised an eyebrow or two. Many of you have questioned as to how Mr Brown has managed to achieve such results in such a short period of time (as if we’d tell you!) – but all talk of embedded messages and subliminal tweeting is hugely encouraged.
So now in to the UK top 20 slides Mr Brown along with an increase in followers that is usually reserved for those with 1million+ followers.
I’m sure this is all down to his devastating wit and repartee and has urged many of you to vote for him on the Mashable Awards as Most Goateed Twitter User – very nice of you all and thank you so much for the support and lovely messages.
We’re looking to encourage more of the Enigma Crew on to twitter when the next tour goes out. In the mean time you can follow (@lordcoopy – for art updates and tour news, @phillisdorris – for all the stuff too naughty to put on here and @AbeoDbart – for technical and twitter tips).
The Happiness Hat – you better damn well be smilling
happiness hat from Lauren McCarthy.
The happiness hat makes sure your smiling all day long. If not it jabs a metal spike in to the back of your head. Problem solved! Next issue please?
Outrage At “Noah’s Ark” Creationist Zoo Which Denies Darwin’s Theory Of Evolution
A secular group is demanding that tourism groups stop promoting a ‘creationist’ zoo which questions the traditional view of evolution.
The Noah’s Ark Zoo is accused by the British Humanist Association of misleading tens of thousands of visitors annually and ‘threatening public understanding’.
The BHA says the zoo farm, run by husband and wife Anthony and Christina Bush in Wraxall, near Bristol, promotes creationism – the belief that all life was created by God – and seeks to discredit scientific facts such as carbon dating, the fossil record and the speed of light.
BHA director of education and public affairs, Andrew Copson, said: ‘As they are public bodies, we believe it is inappropriate that tourist boards should support establishments that seek to urge religious or ideological beliefs upon people.’
Noah’s Ark research assistant Jon Woodward said: ‘We are offering our visitors the chance to look at the evolution/creation debate. As it is a free country, that is within our right.
‘We are slightly different from popular creationism. We hold a view that the natural world around us is the product of both God and evolution.
‘We do not hold the stereotypical creationist views that the world was created in 6,000 years.’
Daily Mail (thanks, Tammy)
UPDATE: The following excellent articles just came in from Paul at the Humanist.
Bless This Tiger
And there was me worrying about Creationism
Eagle Ancestors Hunted Early Humans, Skull Study Suggests
Ancient relatives of eagles not only hunted and ate early humans but also influenced how our species evolved, a new study suggests.
In addition, the research appears to settle a long-running debate over what killed a prehistoric child in Africa 2.5 million years ago.
The findings are based on an analysis of more than 600 modern-day monkey bones collected beneath the nests of African crowned eagles in the rain forests of Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast).
The monkey remains revealed that the eagles—which typically weigh between 10 and 12 pounds (4.5 and 5 kilograms)—frequently kill and eat primates weighing up to 24 pounds (11 kilograms).
The researchers say that they were surprised to find that large monkey species that live on the ground are a common target for the raptors.
The study suggests that birds of prey “have been a selective force in primate evolution for a long time,” says lead study author W. Scott McGraw, an associate professor of anthropology at Ohio State University in Columbus.
National Geographic (thanks, Fosca)
Scientology under fire
It’s been a bad month for Scientology. Over the last few weeks several high profile incidents have seen the cult officially branded as a cult, lost high profile members due to homophobia and has been fined 600,000 Euros.
In France a court convicted the COS of fraud, but stopped short of banning the group from operating. France says that the COS is a purely commercial operation designed to make as much money as it can at the expense of often vulnerable victims. Two branches of the group’s operations and several of its leaders in France have been fined.
The case came after complaints from two women, one of whom said she was manipulated into paying more than £18,100 in the 1990s. Prosecutors had asked for the group’s French operations to be dissolved and more heavily fined, but a legal loophole prevented any ban.
Earlier in the week Oscar-winning film director Paul Haggis cut all ties with the
Church of Scientology because what he said was the organisation’s anti-gay stance.
In a letter, Haggis said he was disappointed by the church’s tacit denial of gay rights in the debate over California’s gay marriage ban. Haggis, who directed film Crash, said he could not be a member of a body “where gay-bashing was tolerated”.
All this comes after an interview with ABC reporter Martin Bashir where a representative of the church stormed out of an interview after a series of questions about COS beliefs. Unintentionally this rose the report to a higher profile than expected.
THE TOP 12 INTERNET SCAMS OF THE 2000S
Clue yourself up on the top 12 scams of the last 10 years including Paypal hoaxes, spyware and disaster relief scams.
Colossal sea monster unearthed
The skull of a prehistoric sea monster so large it could make mincemeat of a T Rex has been unearthed on the Dorset coast. The ferocious creature, called a pliosaur, terrorised the oceans 150million years ago during the time of the dinosaurs.
Experts say the 8ft-long skull is so big it could have belonged to one of the largest pliosaurs ever found – a monstrous predator measuring more than 52 foot in length.
Can Psychics Be Good For Your Health?
The following is from an article in the Telegraph – please let us know your thoughts on this:
A phenomenon known as remote viewing, which claims to use psychic powers to ‘see’ what is invisible to the naked eye, may have an intriguing role to play in healthcare.
Three months ago, Twitter hosted its first scientific experiment and invited users to help demonstrate the existence of psychic powers. Professor Richard Wiseman, of the University of Hertfordshire, recruited 7,000 volunteers via the social messaging service to investigate “remote viewing” (RV). A remote viewer is a gifted individual who claims to be able to “see” events in the past, present and future, and identifying distant locations.
The psychology professor, famed for his mass-participation experiments, which explore the curious science of everyday life, travelled to a mystery site in the UK, whereupon he sent a Tweet. Participants were asked to pinpoint his location by selecting it from a line-up of five photographs. As only 15 per cent of people correctly predicted Prof Wiseman’s location – despite a 20 per cent probability – he pronounced RV to be a hoax.
Telegraph (thanks, Fosca)
Autistic Artist Stephen Wiltshire is Drawing New York from Memory
After just 20 minutes in a helicopter above the Manhattan skyline, autistic artist Stephen Wiltshire was ready to re-create a city that took hundreds of years to build.
Wiltshire is drawing a 20-foot panoramic view of New York – all from memory. The 35-year-old artist’s autistic disorder affects his ability to interact with other people. It has also given him a photographic memory – and a gift for putting it on paper.
“I just looked without drawing,” said Wiltshire as he explained how he is able to draw the skyline without referring back to a photograph of the city.
“Everything is like a TV show,” he said. “I have never drawn from a sketchbook.”
Wiltshire, a Londoner, is creating the image at the Pratt Institute of Art in Brooklyn, where the public can watch him work through Friday afternoon.
Read more (Thanks John)
"
