Friday, May 26, 2006

Company Sells “Islamic Jeans” Made For Praying Muslims

Company Sells “Islamic Jeans” Made For Praying Muslims
(Local 6)
The Italian company, based in the city of Udine, has been marketing the trousers as “the jeans of choice for Islam,” according to the Al Quds Web site.

Al Quds Jeans, manufactured in Pakistan, are baggy and have a high waist to allow freedom of movement during the repeated kneeling for Islamic worship.

Be sure to color-coordinate with these.

Chicken and Egg Question Answered

Chicken and Egg Question Answered
(Guardian)
It is a question that has vexed philosophers since the Greeks. But it seems we may now have the answer to the beguilingly simple question: “Which came first?” It’s the egg.

This reassuring conclusion was the work of an expert panel including a philosopher, geneticist and chicken farmer.

Huh? This was such a conundrum? Even Cecil answered this 22 years ago.

Feared Saudi Religious Police Reined In

Feared Saudi Religious Police Reined In
(Yahoo News)
The Interior Ministry said it is taking measures to restrict the powers of the agency that runs the religious police, a force resented by many Saudis for interfering in their personal lives.

[…]

The morality squad has long enjoyed wide and unchallenged powers. Its members roam public places, such as malls, markets and universities, looking for such infractions as unrelated men and women mingling in public, men skipping the five daily prayers and women with strands of hair showing from under their veil.

They’ve scolded salesmen for dressing elegantly, waiters for serving food with a smile and young women for carrying pictures of heartthrobs, such as actor Leonardo di Caprio.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Sex Theme Park to Open in London

Sex Theme Park to Open in London
(BBC)
The theme park will include life-sized silicone-made models which visitors can touch to discover erogenous zones.

People will also be able to build their ideal partner from a series of body parts and there will be instructions on how best to kiss and how to talk more sexily.

Not related: No Sex Please: We’re British

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Exercise a Challenge for Saudi Women

Exercise a Challenge for Saudi Women
(Yahoo News)
At a clinic that treats obesity-related diseases, a booklet left by a writer named Muhammad al-Habdan, warned that if girls' schools began P.E., Saudi girls would have to change into workout gear—and good girls should not disrobe outside their homes. Changing in a locker room might cause them to lose the shyness that is the hallmark of good morals, the booklet warned.

It went on to say that the girls might become attracted to each other after seeing their classmates in tight leotards and tops.

I have not the words.

Friday, May 19, 2006

Fetus’ Feet Show Fish, Reptile Vestiges

Fetus’ Feet Show Fish, Reptile Vestiges
(Discovery Channel)
Human feet may not look reptilian once babies emerge from the womb, but during development the appendages appear similar to prehistoric fish and reptiles. The finding supports the theory that mammalian feet evolved from ancient mammal-like reptiles that, in turn, evolved from fish.

It also suggests that evolution—whether that of a species over time or the developmental course of a single organism—follows distinct patterns.

Well, better than feet of clay.

The Simpsons as Philosophy

The Simpsons as Philosophy
(BBC)
We now know we’re just a bunch of naked apes trying to get on as best we can, usually messing things up, but somehow finding life can be sweet all the same. All delusions of a significance that we do not really have need to be stripped away, and nothing can do this better that the great deflator: comedy.

The Simpsons does this brilliantly, especially when it comes to religion. It’s not that the Simpsons is atheist propaganda; its main target is not belief in God or the supernatural, but the arrogance of particular organized religions that they, amazingly, know the will of the creator.

Evolution in the Light of Islam

Evolution in the Light of Islam
(Islam Online)
Chance describes; chance does not cause. Even in normal linguistic definitions, when we say that two persons meet by chance, we do not mean that they are acting haphazardly in life. Given this understanding of chance, it is possible to consider evolution as the divine way of creating life on Earth, as we already accept the known law of gravity as a model for the way the cosmic order is held together.

[…]

The Qur’an says in (38:75) about Prophet Adam, ﴾whom I created with My two hands?﴿ Though this verse is sometimes used as an argument against evolution, it does not categorically negate the possibility of the emergence of humans via some evolutionary process.

Let’s wait and see if there are more of these fancy Stanford-educated science-types who want to overturn everything we hold dear.
Earlier: Faith, Science and Nature’s Mysteries

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Neanderthal Yields Nuclear DNA

Neanderthal Yields Nuclear DNA
(BBC)
Preliminary analysis shows the bundle of DNA responsible for maleness in the Neanderthal—its Y chromosome—is very different from modern human and chimpanzee Y chromosomes; more so than for the other chromosomes in the genome.

This might suggest that little interbreeding occurred between our own species and the Neanderthals.

Chimpanzee and Human Ancestors May Have Interbred

Chimpanzee and Human Ancestors May Have Interbred
(Nature)
The evolutionary split between humans and our nearest evolutionary cousins, chimpanzees, may have occurred more recently than we thought, according to a new comparison of the respective genetic sequences. What’s more, it might have been a messy divorce rather than a clean break—leading to the controversial theory that our two sets of ancestors may have interbred many thousands of years after first parting company.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Saudis Nix Pictures of Women in Newspapers

Saudis Nix Pictures of Women in Newspapers

(Yahoo News)

The king told editors on Monday night that publishing a woman’s picture for the world to see was inappropriate.


“One must think, do they want their daughter, their sister, or their wife to appear in this way. Of course, no one would accept this,” the newspaper Okaz quoted Abdullah as saying.


“The youth are driven by emotion … and sometimes they can be led astray. So, please, try to cut down on this,” he said.







OMG, I need a cold shower.

Update:
‘Abdullah Did Not Ban Women’s Pictures’
(Arab News)
King Abdullah was referring to pictures which are used for the sake of sensationalism. At no point during his meeting with the editors did the king warn local media against publishing pictures of Saudi women, as reported by the news agencies. The wire agencies completely misinterpreted and misrepresented the king’s views.

Whew!

Muslims Join Da Vinci Criticism

Muslims Join Da Vinci Criticism
(BBC)
“The Holy Koran recognizes Jesus as a prophet. What the book says is an insult to both Christians and Muslims,” Maulana Mansoor Ali Khan, general secretary of the All-India Sunni Jamiyat-ul-Ulema, told the Reuters news agency.

“Muslims in India will help their Christian brothers protest this attack on our common religious belief,” he said.

Aww … the solidarity brings tears to my eyes.