36 YEARS AGO TODAY

Mar 30 1968

Two children in the Bowery come across the body of a homeless drug addict later identified as Bobby Driscol, 31, the voice of Disney's "Peter Pan".

 Almost from the beginning, his Great Talent and screen presence was evident. He was the first child actor put under an exclusive contract to Disney, and he is known for such memorable performances as Johnny in "Song of the South, Jim Hawkins in Disney's Treasure Island (for which he received his star on the "Walk of Fame", and Tommy in "The Window" (for which he received a special Oscar).

It was a year later, due to a chance checking of fingerprints, that it was discovered that the John Doe they had buried was actually Bobby Driscoll.

http://www.weblore.com/satterwhite/bobby1.html

Sex stimulates the brain and makes people more intelligent, according to Werner Habermehl, from the Hamburg Medical Research Institute.

He said that love making not only excited the body but also the brain and the increased amount of adrenaline and cortisol hormones that are produced stimulates the grey matter.

"Sex makes you more intelligent in that experiences are collected that can be used later on in areas of life not linked to sex."

He added that the added injection of endorphins and serotonin that resulted from an orgasm strengthened self-confidence - giving the body a mental as well as physical work out.

RIYADH (Reuters) - A convicted Saudi murderer escaped death by seconds when he was forgiven by his victim's father as he knelt down before the executioner's sword.

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A Cambodian man cut off his penis when he said he was visited by four hungry spirits in a dream and he had no chicken or duck to offer them.

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - A Texas woman heating fish sticks was shot in the leg by a gun that had been stashed in her oven, police said.

Women-Only Language Re-emerges

By Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News

March 29, 2004 — Chinese archivists will unveil a rare collection of items featuring Nushu, a mysterious ancient language created by, and exclusively for, women.

Nushu, meaning women's script, was held so securely by its speakers and writers that women used to burn manuscripts to keep them away from men, or they would bury items containing Nushu with female friends upon their deaths.

The language's origins are unclear, but most scholars believe Nushu emerged in the third century during a time when the Chinese government prohibited education of women. Practices such as arranged marriages and foot binding also prevented many women from travelling far beyond their homelands.

Orie Endo, professor of sociolinguistics and Japanese teaching methodology,  theorized that Nushu arose out of a custom called Jiebai Zimei, or "sworn sisterhood."

From scottishfyre

G.I.'s Padlock Baghdad Paper Accused of Lies

BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 28 — American soldiers shut down a popular Baghdad newspaper on Sunday and tightened chains across the doors after the occupation authorities accused it of printing lies that incited violence.

Thousands of outraged Iraqis protested the closing as an act of American hypocrisy, laying bare the hostility many feel toward the United States a year after the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
.......
Many Iraqis said closing down a popular newspaper at such a crucial time would not curtail anti-occupation feelings but only inflame them.

"When you repress the repressed, they only get stronger," said Hamid al-Bayati, a spokesman for the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, a prominent Shiite political party. "Punishing this newspaper will only increase the passion for those who speak out against the Americans."
.....
"If you're trying to promote democracy in a country that has never had it, you have to lead by example," Mr. Rosenstiel said. "I'm not in Iraq. But it's hard for me to see how the suppression of information, even false information, is going to help our cause."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/29/international/worldspecial/29PRES.html?hp 

From holdenncaulfield

27 YEARS AGO TODAY

George DeMohrenschildts' Suicide

Mar 29 1977

Lee Harvey Oswald's best friend, and coincidentally a friend of both Jackie Kennedy and George HW Bush, Dallas socialite George de Mohrenschildt dies from a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the mouth, at 3:45 pm. It is likely he was going to be called to testify before the House Select Committee on Assassinations.

The House Select Committee on Assassinations obtained from de Mohrenschildt's effects, a signed photograph of Lee Harvey Oswald inscribed "To my friend George from Lee Oswald 5/IV/63" and "Copyright G de M". It is a copy of the famous photograph of Oswald with the rifle and newspapers, which we now know was taken by de Mohrenschildt.

From el_viajero

Iraqis burn a US flag while one of them hits it with a sandal during a demonstration held in Baghdad.