Just another dent in the damage…

Who would you rescue first from a burning building, the baby or the guinea pig?

Surely that’s obvious? I’d rescue whichever I could get to! Whichever was in more danger. Whichever I could rescue without endangering my own life. It’s not about choosing which has more ‘right’ to live than the other, it’s about saving another life! Any life.

At the weekend I read about a 16 year old school boy who has been receiving death threats due to a Pro-Test website he set up supporting the new scientific research lab in Oxford. Although I see no reason to endorse violence or even threats of violence I’ve got to ask — What did you really expect? Has he never heard of the Animal Liberation Front? Does he not know the consequences of such a radical statement? Has he not read about the workers who risk their lives every single day? or the fact that one building company pulled out of its contract due to the dangers set upon its staff? Any slight intelligence would have told him that support for such a project would not go unnoticed. I don’t even think he wanted to go unnoticed! How would that be of any benefit to his cause? By living an animal cruelty-free lifestyle I quite obviously see no reason to support animal testing but were you to ask me ‘well what if by testing on animals we managed to find a cure for cancer or aids or any other terminal disease would you support it then?’ I’d struggle to answer. In my current situation there is no way that I could lend my support to animal testing or the building of laboratories to do so. But what if my circumstances changed? What if a relative or a close friend of mine became ill and their survival depended upon scientific breakthroughs based on animal testing? Could I really so easily write science off? Having not experienced such a scenario am I really in any position to draw a bottom line?

One thing I will be quite clear on however, is how much those morons that ask ‘would you support animal testing if the outcome was intended for an animal?’ piss me off. If the said product was beneficial to its animal receiver I don’t see any reason to protest — the same as I see no reason to protest against ‘human guinea pigs,’ testing products intended for human consumption. Another note of annoyance for me are animal rights activists that eat meat. I’m guessing these are only a minority (correct me if I’m wrong) but come on — practice what you preach at least or how can anyone take you seriously? The comments section at Harrys Place covers all of the above but what I found most interesting is the measurement of ‘rights.’ One commentor suggests that while testing on chimps is the crime of the century it’s ok to test on mice. Why is that? Is it because as a less civilised species it ‘logically’ follows that mice have less ‘rights’ than chimps? hhhhmmmm. Interesting.

Look what Lenin has to say!

The most bizarre TV show I’ve recently come across is something I watched last night. Taking the gameshow formula, this programme tricks ‘petty criminals’ into handing themselves over to the cops. I was only half watching but the general idea was to get these ‘wanted’ criminals to attend a football competition where they get to hang out with models and potentially win a car. Once the contestant scored they were ushered to ‘walk the plank’ by the show’s host, in order to collect their prizes. But here’s the twist — There is no prize. The other side of the curtains hidden away are the police ready to cuff ‘em and take ‘em away.

Are the producers actually aware of the mockery this makes of our justice system and the police institution? Maybe that’s their intentions. Who knows. I couldn’t give a shit anyway — I am an Anti-Christ and I am an Anar-chist!

I got my acceptance letter to university yesterday! I’m going to be studying an MA in Librarianship. If I can get the funding I’ll go full time — I’ll get it out of the way. If I don’t I either have to work my ass off or spread the course over two years. I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it though. I’m going to India in August no matter what!!!

This evening I shall celebrate with ‘Freedom Fries’ and a ‘Rose of the Prophet Muhammed.’

What the hell is wrong with these people!! Is this what Bush/Blair envisioned when fighting a ‘war on terror?’ Is this how they intended to free the Iraqi people of Saddam Hussein’s regime? When disgusting images such as these get released to the media it begs the question — why on Earth has there been so much uproar/violence/death/racial hatred/Islamophobia concerning a dozen satirical cartoons?

A statement from the SBS (Special Broadcasting Service) says “The extent of abuse shown in the photos suggests that the torture and abuse that occurred at Abu Gharaib in 2004 is much worse than is currently understood.” No kidding, glad they cleared that one up.

From Lenin:

How many prisoners were tortured, sexually humiliated and killed? How many died from having their chest crushed and ribs snapped like Manadel al-Jamadi? How many continue to be tortured and murdered in Bagram, Guantanamo and the other torture centres in America’s global gulag? And since when was it sufficient to say “we don’t want these pictures of our wrongdoing released in case it stirs anger in The Muslim World?” Should it not arouse anger? And much else besides?

Are these images representative of the US-led occupation? I wonder, too just how many prisoners have been tortured, sexually humiliated and subsquently killed. Oh wait, that’s our ‘human right’ as ‘westerners’ isn’t it? To take away the rights of others i.e. non-westerners?

…a ballet dancer!

Hamas thinks when Palestinian chilidren grow up they should want to be terrorists!!!

The children’s magazine named Fatah — Arabic for the Muslim who conquers the Kufir States — in its last two issues carried an illustrated story about the heroism of a very young but courageous Palestinian child, who is determined to be a jihad fighter like his older brothers.

It was this article in The Observer that sparked my interest in From my Sister’s Lips, a book written by Na’ima B Robert as a ‘celebration of Muslim womanhood.’

Na’ima B. Robert is the daughter of a white South African father of Scottish descent and a black South African mother of Zulu descent. Born in Leeds, she grew up in Zimbabwe and went on to gain a first-class degree from the University of London. She has worked in the travel and tourism industry, was a teacher and has written and illustated children’s books. Following her conversion to Islam and her marriage to a Ghanaian revert, she settled in South London, where she now lives with her husband and two small sons.

Having experienced very little (if any) religious upbringing with no family connections to a faith I hoped that Robert’s invitation to view life ‘beneath the veil’ would to some degree widen my understanding of ‘western reverts’. She explores the many stereotypical notions of Muslim women in Britain from ‘covering’ to marriage to motherhood and offers an in-depth account of her personal journey to Islam.

At times I found Robert’s analysis of women and Islam rather difficult and somewhat overly self-righteous but as a non-Muslim this is understandable and something she herself put into words – ‘Although I have tried to explain Islamic concepts as clearly as possible, there are some things that will be difficult for non-Muslims to understand. The Muslim accepts these things because of his faith and grounding in Islamic knowledge – the same cannot be expected of those who have not entered the faith’.

One concept that particularly interests me concerning Islam is the progression from the hijab and loose fitting clothing to the abaya(h) (modest ‘dresses’) to half/full jilbabs and the burqa/niqab. What exactly is it that women find so ‘liberating’ about covering their physical attributes? And why is it that they do all of this in the name of ‘Allah?’ What ‘reward’ do they receive for embracing Islamic values and traditions? It wasn’t until ‘Part 2:Living Islam‘ that I really connected with what was being said. As a vegan I guess in someways I belong to a group of extreme individuals that share/respect and stand by certain principles no matter what strains are placed upon me to indulge in non-vegan products (ridicule/peer pressure/ignorance/facilities etc.) It is possible then for me to understand the Muslim dress progression in terms of vegetarianism progression i.e. from lacto-ovo vegetarianism to lacto/ovo vegetarianism to veganism to fruitarianism etc etc. Being vegan is something I am proud to be everyday and something I find personally rewarding/liberating through a lack of falter. By drawing such an analogy (albeit a rather simple one — I know) I feel that I can at least begin to understand a small amount of the many challenges that faces a Muslim woman in a western world. I am far from ignorant to the western attitudes concerning Muslims (gender roles/threat of terrorism/suicide bombers/honour killings/arranged marriages etc) and further seek to develop my personal understandings of Islam and it’s magnitude of followers.

Refreshing, controversial and often surprising, From my Sisters’ Lips is an invitation to a world usually seen only by those admitted to its inner circle. It is a celebration of their womanhood and friendship – a celebration of their Islam.

What a nice story to start my day! In the remote forest of the Foja Mountains, west of Papua New Guinea, Bruce Beehler has discovered a Garden of Eden.

On his month long expedition Beehler has discovered a number of new species, including 20 frogs, 4 butterflies, 5 palms and a Rhododendeon Macgregoriae. In a place untouched by man, species close to extinction were found to be breeding in harmony and completely unafraid of human contact!

There is a slide show here that includes evidence of the smoky honeyeater, a golden fronted bowerbird and a Berlepsch’s six-wired “lost” bird of paradise. Six species of tree kangaroos were also recorded including the golden-mantled tree kangaroo, a species new to Indonesia and one of the cutest things I have ever seen! While I understand this place to be an incredibe laboratory for biodiversity scientists I hope that it can be totally preserved and left free of the unintended consequences of human civilisation.

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons non-hydrogenated vegan margarine;
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners’ vegan sugar;
• 1/2 cup sifted cocoa powder;
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract;
• 1/4 cup vegan soymilk;
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional).

Directions:

Lightly grease a 5×9-inch loaf pan using a little of the margarine. Place the remaining margarine, vegan sugar, cocoa, vanilla and soymilk in a heatproof mixing bowl or the upper part of a double boiler (I use a small pot in a large pot of water.) Place the bowl or boiler over simmering water and stir until smooth. Add nuts if desired. Pour the mixture quickly into the prepared pan. Chill thoroughly and cut into squares.

Serves: 2 to 3 dozen squares (or 1 Lex.)

Preparation Time: 15 Minutes