Month: March 2013

Al-Kahina, Jewel Of The Desert

Professor’s Classroom

Subject:  Women’s History

It is Women’s History Month and as my regular readers know that I try to post little known people of note in history….I especially enjoy pointing out courageous women of history…..this lady caught my fancy when I was reading a book entitled, The Sahara–A cultural History written by Eamonn Gearon….an excellent book if you are a history nerd, very informative and entertaining reading…..

In the 7th century, Arab armies were sweeping across North Africa and bringing with them the Islamic beliefs…….the Arabs met their match when they invaded the land of the Berbers, a native people of the Sahara……….

By Eamonn Gearon

Far from being natives of North Africa, Arab armies only entered Egypt in 639. Just 71 years later they crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to begin their invasion of Europe. These remarkable conquests were greater and swifter than any achieved by Greece or Rome. Even so, it was not a story of unbroken victories.

Some uprisings persisted for decades, prompting one Arab governor to declare, “The conquest of Ifriqiya is impossible; scarcely has one Berber tribe been exterminated than another takes its place.” The Roman term of opprobrium for any non-Roman – barbarian – became a proper name, creating a Berber identity uniting a people. Unfortunately for the Berbers, this common identity did not equal united resistance.

The most serious Berber resistance was the campaign led by the Berber tribal elder al-Kahina, or “the prophetess.” Variously claimed as a Jewess and a Christian by co-religionists, and described as a witch or a sorceress by her detractors, al-Kahina’s bravery and desire to remain free of foreign domination inspired others to mount numerous, ultimately doomed, revolts.

Described as a beauty with the gift of prophecy, she put this last skill to good use, sending her sons to her Arab enemies. The Arabs, recognising the skills inherent in the boys’ mother, raised them to become successful commanders of Arab armies. In this way, the Berbers were able to claim some glory from a story that is otherwise characterised by defeat and subjugation.

Al-Kahina herself died fighting the Arabs in around 702. Since then, al-Kahina has inspired Berber nationalists, Maghrebi feminists and, in the 19th and 20th centuries, French colonialists! Even today, while virtually unknown in the West, al-Kahina’s name is legendary across North Africa, but perhaps she foresaw that too.

A noble warrior that would have NO place in Arabic society……..she should and is an inspiration to women everywhere…. a woman that met a trial and fought to protect her and her people’s way of life……she did what must be done……..not much more can be asked of anyone……..

It Is Energy–Again

Hopefully you will remember all the hoopla about domestic oil……that prices will go down, it is in the national interests, we will be more secure…..blah, blah, blah………in the last election (2012) Gingrich promised if elected gas would be $3 a gallon…..or was it $2 a gallon?  ……and all the peasants danced!

And now wonder boy has issued his newest budget proposal…..same as the old budget proposal……..and as usual the GOP returns to the same lie that domestic oil drilling will make us more secure and oil independent……I have written on this many times and many times NO one is listening……drill baby drill is a slogan….NOT an energy policy!

And the Prez is talking energy and domestic oil….to fund alt energy research…..just how soon will it be before the Repubs bring up Solendra again?  About the only attack they have………How many times must I cover this before it sinks into thick skulls?

I have had enough of the simplistic crap!

One more time for good measure……..conservs want to be allowed to drill on public land and this will make us independent of foreign oil……that is bunk!  All it will do is give oil companies cheap leases….and gas prices will remain the same……

Then there is the support for the XL Pipeline which will take Canadian oil from Canada to Houston area refineries…….that will not make oil cheaper…..why?  It is Canada’s oil and they will sell to whoever they want…….the pipeline will create construction jobs but once finished will employ few workers……this will not makes us independent!

Even offshore oil will not be cheaper oil…….why?  Oil is old on the spot market and speculation will drive prices NO matter where the stuff is drilled……do you understand that?  Oil futures drive the price not the location of the rig!  Futures markets control price!  Does that compute?

Let us be honest……most of our oil comes from Mexico, Canada and Nigeria….very little comes from the Middles East…..if makes you feel better then by all means believe the slogans and the hyperbole…..but reality will eventually set in…..

Does anyone think that Exxon or Shell or BP will sell gas cheaper because it is drilled on US soil?  (that is a rhetorical question but it does warrant some thought)…..

You want cheaper oil?  If so, there is only one answer……an answer that few will like…..and it involves the “N” word!  As it is today….NOTHING will give you cheaper gas!  No amount of promises or vague policies will lessen the price.

How many times must I go over this issue before people remove their heads from the sand and realize that there will be NO cheap oil!

Sex To Die For……..

Keeping with a theme for this weekend……I will give you yet more of what we all craave…..SEX!

Newser) – One of the week’s most salacious stories got its start in the journal Plos One with this headline: “Cell Wall Assembly and Intracellular Trafficking in Plant Cells Are Directly Affected by Changes in the Magnitude of Gravitational Acceleration.” Of course, it wasn’t until the Daily Mail got hold of it that the story took off, with this slightly revised headline: “Bad news for 220-mile high club: Researchers find sex in space could lead to life-threatening illnesses.” This led to a spate of sex-in-space-can-kill-you stories. So what gives? It turns out that amorous space travelers probably don’t have to worry—unless they’re having sex for the specific purpose of producing offspring, explains Daily Kos.

Essentially, the researchers studied plant sex in zero gravity and found big problems in the reproduction process related to how cells communicate with each other. They did not draw any conclusions about human sex, but the possibility of similar problems affecting people can’t be ruled out yet, says LiveScience. “What does this mean?” asks Daily Kos. “It means we may not be able to colonize the Moon or Mars anytime soon, not until we lick many, many problems.” But at least the couple who might be blasting off to Mars should be able to … unwind.

What can I say?  At least this is more entertaining than the speeches out of CPAC.

You Must Be 21 To Participate

For my readers and followers that do not understand what happened….I am a political animal but on weekends I give my mind a break and find interesting stuff other than politics on which to post…..some of it is cultural, some sciencey and some just plain absurd…..just my small attempt to keep my mind grounded and well rested for the coming week……enjoy!

Holy crap!  There is a wealth of sex news these days……..I just saw the Arias story for the first time last week……you would think the media would be all over this because they love them some gossip……

There are a lot of things that one needs to be 18 to do…..fight for your country, stand trial as an adult, vote, get married and then there are somethings that one must be 21 to participate….like having a drink or buying a gun. And now there is a push for an age upgrade……..

The media were quick to jump all over the “disgraced” Miss Delaware Teen USA’s alleged turn in a porn video. But everyone missed the larger point: Melissa King was just 18 when she supposedly filmed it, writes Charles Lane in the Washington Post. “Why is it even legal to cast an 18-year-old in a sexually explicit movie?” he wonders. Eighteen might be the age at which you can vote, but certainly “having sex with a stranger for money and on camera belongs on the short list of risky behaviors that one can’t legally engage in before age 21,” like drinking, gambling, working as a stripper, or buying a gun. Congress set the minimum age to participate in porn at 18 in 1984, back when it took a lot more time, effort, and money to make a porn film. These days, anyone can film a sex act on a cellphone camera and distribute it on social media. “Mistakes like King’s are much easier to make but much harder to erase,” Lane writes. It’s time for Congress to recognize “the immaturity and vulnerability of some 18- to 21-year-olds” by changing the porn age. Click for Lane’s full column.

This is total crap!  If a woman can get married without parental permission then she should be able to have sex and make a movie…….okay let’s say they get their way…..can the female be emancipated and work in porn?  Can the parents give their permission for her to work?  Can we then expand their little law to include regular movies….no kid actors under the age of 21?  Where will it all end?

Only In Mississippi

My home state is a constant source of befuddlement.  I know I have bad mouthed my state on so many occasions……but they have gone and topped themselves….it will be hard to be any more stupid.

First, let us look at the state of Mississippi……most obese state, the poorest state, the state with the most cases of diabetes… the state always has a higher unemployment rate than the nation’s…….poor education, health services, on and on and………

Now the media pundits, especially the millionaires, are all over trying to save us from ourselves by supporting a better nutrition program……and then there are those that push back…..but so far I have not seen a state tackle this subject…..that is until………. now!

From the NY Times…….

The Mississippi Legislature wants to be the sole government body that controls its buffets, barbecue and sweet tea.

To that end, the people who govern the state with the highest rate of obesity in the nation have passed a bill saying that any law that might restrict what Mississippians eat or drink has to go through them — barring federal regulations.

That means that cities or counties cannot enact rules limiting soda size, salt content, shortening in cookies, toys in fast-food meals for children, how a menu is written or just about any other aspect of the daily dining experience in Mississippi.

It is easy to view the new Mississippi law with an ironic eye. As Representative Omeria Scott, a Democrat, pointed out during the debate on the bill, “Mississippi is the fattest and most unhealthy state in the U.S.A.”

But the legislation is the latest and most sweeping expression of a nationwide battle in which some government officials, public health leaders and food supply reformers are pitted against those who would prefer the government quit trying to control what people eat.

Mayor Bloomberg of New York City commented……..

“You know, Saturday Night Live couldn’t write this stuff,” Mr. Bloomberg exclaimed. “How can somebody try and pass a law that deliberately says we can’t improve the lives of our citizens? It’s just farce. Nobody would believe it if you wrote it in the book.”

You may shake your heads and ask….what the Hell are they thinking?  Well, there is the problem…..thinking…….they do not do much of that in the South, especially in Mississippi.  And you thought your state was screwed up…….