Apologies for red capitals through much of this post. I don't code and sometimes it gets in the way.
Clegg clarifies stance after saying Iraq war 'illegal'
( or : enjoying the massive suckitude of denying the patently obvious )
War is a Crime.org
Secret Prisons Inside the US and Begun Under Bush, continue under Obama
Leading to War
BP admits altering oil spill response centre image
Blogger John Aravosis drew attention to the altered image in his Americablog.com.He said: "I guess if you're doing fake crisis response, you might as well fake a photo of the crisis response centre."
Astronomers detect 'monster star'
R136a1 is seen to have a mass about 265 times that of our own Sun; but the latest modelling work suggests at birth it could have been bigger, still.
Inside the global asbestos trade
Banned or restricted in more than 50 countries, white asbestos continues to be widely used in China, India, Russia and Brazil, and many developing countries. The BBC's Steve Bradshaw and Jim Morris from the ICIJ report on an industry supported by a global network of lobby groups.
Continued use of asbestos could significantly prolong a global epidemic of asbestos-related illnesses that began when blue and brown asbestos were legal. The WHO says white asbestos "is a known cause of human cancer," including mesothelioma.
Defenders of chrysotile insist safe use can prevent any ill effects including cancer - and some argue there's no link to mesothelioma at all.
Some industry-funded researchers have published hundreds of scientific papers saying that chrysotile can be used safely. White asbestos, they argue, is significantly less hazardous than brown or blue asbestos, which the industry stopped mining in the 1990s.
Claims made by this small but vocal minority of scientists include that white asbestos fibres:- are rapidly and harmlessly expelled by the lungs
- can be safely embedded in cement
- have no connection with mesothelioma at all, even if there are possible links to lung cancer
'Does good job' Dr John Hoskins, an independent consultant toxicologist specialising in occupational hygiene with particular reference to asbestos, believes ambitious politicians and litigation lawyers are among those orchestrating a campaign against white asbestos that is scaring the public and "committing economic damage".
"You have a cheap product which actually does a good job," says Dr Hoskins, who says he formed his views while working for the UK's Medical Research Council. "I think there's an immeasurably small risk and immeasurably small means it cannot be measured."
The one thing almost everyone seems to agree on is that little is known about what is actually happening in many countries that still use asbestos.
Hundreds of dead penguins, birds wash up on Brazil shores
The Institute of Environment and Natural Resources said 530 penguins, numerous other sea birds, five dolphins and three giant sea turtles have been found in the coastal towns of Peruibe, Praia Grande and Itanhaem, with more likely on other nearby beaches.Preliminary investigations point to starvation as the cause.
White House sorry for Shirley Sherrod 'racism' firing
The White House has apologised to a black US official fired after a video appeared to show her making racially charged remarks about a white farmer.
Agriculture department official Shirley Sherrod was exonerated in the full video, which surfaced soon after she was sacked.The video of her full speech, which surfaced on Tuesday evening, shows her explaining she learned from the incident that poverty, not race, is the key factor in rural development.
"Working with him made me see that it's really about those who have versus those who haven't," she told the NAACP in March.
"They could be black, they could be white, they could be Hispanic. And it made me realise then that I needed to help poor people - those who don't have access the way others have."
Tuesday Mrs Sherrod complained that government officials would not heed her explanation and accused them of ousting her because they were afraid of a conservative media backlash.
Analysis
Continue reading the main story In Shirley Sherrod's bruising 24 hours at the heart of the frantic American news spin cycle, she found herself condemned by the black civil rights group which hosted the meeting where she spoke and then forced to resign by government officials who said they were acting on behalf of the White House.No-one in government or in the civil rights movement bothered to ask what she'd actually said or ask for her side of the story.
If they had, they would have found in Shirley Sherrod a woman who had risen above personal tragedy to work for black and white farmers alike.
Whatever happens to Mrs Sherrod the case demonstrates that in Obama's America the issue of race isn't getting any less sensitive.
More importantly, it catches politicians in a moment of slavish and ill-considered over-reaction to the demands of the age of continuous news.
Female Imams Blaze Trail Amid China's Muslims
China has an estimated 21 million Muslims, who have developed their own set of Islamic practices with Chinese characteristics. The biggest difference is the development of independent women's mosques with female imams, something scholars who have researched the issue say is unique to China.
The modest courtyard of Wangjia Hutong Women's Mosque contains within it the entire history of China's mosques for females. It's the oldest surviving women's mosque in China, with one gray plaque high up on a wall dating back to 1820.Like other women's mosques, it began as a Quranic school for girls. These sprang up in the late 17th century in central China, including Shanxi and Shandong provinces. They morphed into women's mosques about 100 years ago, starting in Henan province.
Women's mosques in China are administered independently, by women for women, in addition to being legally separate entities in some cases.
China is the only country to have such a long history of female imams. However, there are things that, according to the customary practices of Chinese Muslims, female imams can't do.
They can't, for instance, lead funeral rituals or wash male corpses.
There is some resistance closer to China's border with Pakistan and Afghanistan, closer to the harder-line Wahhabi and Salafi influences.
In the past decade, some women's mosques have been established in northwest China. The phenomenon appears to be spreading, helped politically by the Islamic Association of China, a state-controlled body that regulates Islam and issues licenses to practice to male and female imams alike.
This is part of the anomaly that is religion in China — the atheist Chinese authorities are endorsing a practice some Muslims find unacceptable.
Third-generation imam Sun Chengying, who has been practicing for 21 years, worries about the future.
"I haven't had any students since 1996," she says, shaking her head. "Women don't want be imams anymore, because the salaries in the mosques are too low. No one is willing to do it."
Female imams sometimes earn as little as $40 a month, one-third of what can be earned in other jobs. Younger women need to earn more to support their families.
And so it appears the future of female imams in China is threatened — not by the state, not by resistance from inside Islam, but by the forces of market economics.
Inside Islam : Dialogs & Debates
Challenging Misconceptions, Illustrating Diversity
A Collaboration of the UW-Madison's National Resource Centers &
WPR's Here on Earth : Radio Without Borders
Understanding Islam through the Prophet
Even though it has been almost 9 years since the September 11th attacks and the United States is now at war with two Muslim countries, many still do not understand Islam. However, part of this lack of understanding stems from what people know or think that they know about the Prophet Muhammad. Moreover, there is a tendency to base their knowledge of Islam and the Prophet on the violent actions of a few Muslims.
( Perception Alteration's - See Topical Index in the Sidebar - articles include those on hatemongering media that would indicate such coverage is deliberate systematic headbanging of the public )
Islam is not getting a pass
Tomorrow, May 6th, National Day of Prayer events will take place at the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill. This year’s events are receiving media attention because of the Pentagon’s decision to rescind their invitation to Franklin Graham, the son of Evangelist Billy Graham. According to Col. Thomas Collins, this decision stemmed from Graham’s controversial statements on Islam that include calling it an “evil and wicked religion” and saying that “[true] Islam cannot be practiced in this country. You can’t beat your wife. You cannot murder your children if you think they’ve committed adultery or something like that
The Times Square Suspect
The last Inside Islam radio show on Jihad becomes even more timely. Jean spoke with Michael Bonner and Faisal Devji on the meanings of jihad and how many who claim to be jihadists are actually operating outside of Islamic law. Devji, in particular, emphasized that those involved in violent operations are acting as individuals, unlike in the tradition where jihad is a collective activity ordered by a leader like a caliph. Moreover, these individuals are not necessarily acting out of religious motivations, although they use religious discourse as the framework, but out of ethical reasons, like problems with US foreign policy.
After hearing the news last night about the arrest of Shahzad, I was immediately reminded of Devji’s argument and like many others extremely frustrated by the damage these acts do to the image of Islam and to the vast majority of other Muslims who do not condone these acts. In the media, not enough is done to highlight that these acts do not represent Islam or the loyalty of Muslim Americans just as the Hutaree militia does not represent Christianity. It is very frustrating to me the conspicuous difference in coverage between this story and the Hutaree militia plot. For example, it is disconcerting that there so much focus on his US citizenship when there did not seem to be the same on focus on the citizenship of the 9 Hutaree militia members. Moreover, since he is a Muslim, it becomes acceptable to call it terrorism while with the Hutaree, Christians, it is extremism.
Islam in South Asia: Interview with Joe Elder
Since the 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq, the American public has learned much about the division between Sunni and Shia Muslims. In the context of South Asia, however, the situation is much more complicated than one might expect. Just ask Joseph Elder, Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Prof. Elder has studied South Asian society and religion for over 50 years, and has produced a series of almost 40 documentary films on all aspects of South Asia.
Future of Secularism in Iran
This is a guest post by Saideh Jamshidi, an Iranian-American journalist who is doing graduate study in journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.Last month, I attended a conference at Lake Forest College about the “Future of Secularism and the Public Role of Religion in Iran,” where a group of intellectuals and university professors gathered to discuss the future of secularism in the Middle East and Iran’s role in shaping this phenomenon.
Ahmad Sadri
Jihad
Michael Bonner, author of Jihad In Islamic History: Doctrines and Practice,and Faisal Devji, author of Landscapes fo the Jihad: Militancy, Morality, Modernity will join the program to discuss the concept of jihad, its history, and its manifestations in the world today.
Islam Awareness Week 2010
The Muslim Students Association is hosting Islam Awareness Week 2010 on the UW-Madison campus this week. I interviewed the association in September 2009 and it reminded me that religion doesn’t just live in sacred books or buildings but more in people. There is no better way to understand Islam than to get to know its people. If you are in the area, I hope you’ll find some time to go to the events.
Child Marriages against Islam
In 2008, Nujood Ali’s story got headlines around the world. The ten-year-old girl had escaped from her husband, to whom she had been forcibly married, and went to the courthouse and asked for a divorce. Ali was eventually granted her divorce. However, the court asked Ali to pay compensation to her husband because she was the one initiating the divorce.
Under Islamic law, whoever initiates a divorce carries the consequence. So, if the husband initiates a divorce he cannot take back the dowry and must complete payment of it if he has not paid it in full. If the wife initiates divorce, she must return the dowry to the husband. Unfortunately, the court did not seem to recognize the circumstances of the situation and applied the traditional rules for divorce by asking Nujood to pay. Nujood’s lawyer, though, was able to raise the money.After her divorce, Ali received fame for her story and was even named one of Glamour Magazine’s Women of the Year. Ali’s story called attention to the practice of child marriages in Yemen.
Jordan River Too Polluted for Baptisms
- An environmental group is urging a halt to baptisms in the Jordan River because the waters are so polluted.
- Fresh water that once flowed through the river has been replaced with sewage.
- Jesus is believed to have entered the waters some 2,000 years ago to be baptized by John.
- The Israeli site, known as Qasr al-Yehud, is a closed military area near the West Bank city of Jericho. In recent years the army, under pressure from the tourism ministry, has opened it to pilgrims on special occasions.
Nearby, on the east bank of the river in Jordan, is Wadi Kharrar. It was found by archaeologists in 1996, and the Jordanians say it is the biblical "Bethany Beyond the Jordan" where John the Baptist exercised his ministry.
Excavations there began in 1997 after the redeployment of Jordanian troops who had controlled it when it was a mine-infested no-go zone until a 1994 peace treaty with Israel.
Jordan and Israel each claim that the true baptismal site is on their territory, competing to build hotels and facilities to attract tourists and pilgrims. Are Anti-Bacterial Soaps Poisoning Our Water?
- A common ingredient in liquid soaps is showing up in streams and rivers around the world.
- The chemical threatens the health of people, wildlife and the environment.
- Toxic byproducts of the chemical are also increasing in the environment.
Deserts Spreading Like 'Cancer'
- Deserts are expanding rapidly, devouring fertile land and soaking up water resources.
- Desertification is threatening to uproot millions from their homes.
- Climate change and a growing population are the root causes of this phenomenon.
- Desert Dust Storm Roars Through China, Blankets Korea
- TreeHugger.com: Dispatches from the Front Lines of Climate Change
- HowStuffWorks.com: Desertification
- Party in the Desert
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