News

In Other News: June 20, 2013

by Ariana Tobin

The women's magazine Qandisha caused a stir in Morocco with a open discussion of religion and sexuality. Its founder, 32-year old doctor Fedoua Miski, told Global Voices Online: "We knew we would be demonized so we took up this name of a female devil." We approve.

The Vatican can't quite believe how many Latin-language nerds have flocked to follow the Latin language Twitter-Pope, otherwise known as: "@Pontifex_ln: Summi Pontificis Breviloquentis, the briefly speaking supreme pontiff."

The UN marked World Refugee Day with a report on the highest number of displaced persons in 18 years. Researchers point to the conflict in Syria as the main cause.

Salon's Katie Halper compared the anti-abortion politicians' "science" on fetal masturbation with... actual science.

Turns out male spiders get punished for a lack of foreplay. "If the spiders manage to make it to a female with sperm intact, there’s still the chance that she’ll devour him before they get the chance to mate. Males who don’t follow proper foreplay protocol—about 1.5 hours of abdomen jiggling and light caresses—will also be eaten." Here's the video, if you can handle it:

And just to erase that from your mind, here's a video of the Wu-Tang Clan's awesome American Sign Language interpreter at Bonnaroo last weekend.

Buzzfeed lists eight foods we eat in the U.S. that are banned in other countries, though "food" might be a stretch. Mmm, arsenic.

Because Disney hadn't managed to be offensive enough, now there's this: The Native American Journalists Association has issued a press release after journalists in Indian country were denied credentials for Lone Ranger press events.

And finally: The world continues to mourn the death of James Gandolfini. Here's a Sesame Street clip of the late actor talking about feeling sad.