- 15 child brides used to settle feud– “Pakistani human rights activists are outraged at reports that a long-running blood feud in a remote corner of western Baluchistan province has been resolved by the handing over of 15 girls, aged between three and 10, for marriage.”
- Forget Mary in a grilled cheese, it’s Muhammed in a tree!– “What he found written on it has caused a minor stir among some members of his Muslim community, who view the engraving as a divine reminder of the existence of God. The word “Muhammad”—or rather the Arabic for the Islamic prophet’s name—had been carved into the bark by insects.”
- Opponents of evolution adopting a new strategy– NYT coverage of the “teach the controversy” bullshit raging through so many states. It’s all about “strengths and weaknesses” now, apparently.
- French annulment of Muslim “virgin” marriage exposes underlying tensions
- Horseshoe crab photo– I just think this flipped-over horseshoe crab looks really cool.
Mohammed in a tree, it’s all so clear to me now. “Loop squiggle, loop squiggle, line” we never see that in nature. Classic confirmational bias. Its as ridiculous as claiming Mohammed has ham in the middle.
Wasn’t the french marriage thing about the fact that she’d lied? Marriage is a contract and she’d entered into a deal on a false premise. The ‘proof’ is so suspect, not to mention the “shame” the guy would have felt at having a non-virgin bride with his screwed-up worldview, I would have expected him to stay quiet about any suspicions he might have had. Maybe they were both looking for an “out”?
I don’t even have the energy to rant about these things any more, it’s so depressing.
Whatever divine force it was that wrote Mohammed in that tree needs to learn to write more clearly.
I don’t know anything about horseshoe crabs but I wonder if what Greg Laden says is true in the comments that the crab was upside down in order to mix the sperm and the eggs? If that is the case and that poor crab’s orgasm was ruined then all the quickies today are depressing :(
Imrryr; Horseshoe crabs spawn (males release their sperm into the water and the females release their eggs) so Greg’s comment was just a joke. In fact, you’re supposed to flip over live horseshoe crabs if you find them because a fair number of them die every year when they get flipped over by waves.
Whether the chelicerates can orgasm or not, I can say that’s an open area for further research. :)
Thank you for clearing that up for me Laelaps since Biology is not exactly my strongest subject. I’m glad to be assured that I would be rescuing a horseshoe crab from the cruel hand of death by flipping it back over. And it’s also good to know that I wouldn’t be interrupting anything… um… “important”. :)
hahaha… I had the same question about the horseshoe crabs and their reproductive habits.
See how important it is to try to be factual as much as possible? Poor Greg has now started a lemming-suicide type rumor, that might spread throughout the uneducated masses. (It was funny, though.)
I wonder what made them settle on 15 brides. Clearly one child bride isnt going to stop a tribal war and twenty is surely going to far. I can’t help but wonder if its some kind of sick “seven brides for seven brothers” deal