… to 4 years in prison for mocking religion — one year for each major religion; Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Egyptian Presidency.

(news from Sharkawy (arabic))

On October 28th, at the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City, The World Cultural Council will present the 2006 Albert Einstein World Award of Science to –our pride and joy– Nobel laureate Ahmed Zewail, the Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Physics and professor of physics at the California Institute of Technology.

Prof. Ahmed Zewail’s contribution has literally changed the view of the dynamics of matter and created new femtoscience disciplines, with applications in many areas, including the potential for molecular control with atomic precision.

Over the past seven years, Prof. Zewail has established a new field of research and founded the multi-disciplinary Center of Physical Biology at Caltech. This is a new integrated science of structure and dynamics, with the aim of deciphering the fundamental physics of chemical and biological behaviour, from atoms to cells. Prof Zewail is thus breaking ground at the interface of physics, chemistry and biology. The genesis of these accomplishments was his breakthrough development of 4D imaging, or visualization, of molecular and cellular systems, directly in the four dimensions of space and time, and this seminal work of ultrafast electron microscopy and diffraction has already been published.

On a humane level, Prof. Zewail’s contributions are equally impressive. He is renowned for his tireless efforts to help the less fortunate, for his determination to help his native country, Egypt, and region, for his public lectures on world affairs and for his endeavour to inspire young people in matters of science and technology as well as to put forward peaceful solutions to complex world problems. He is also fully involved with his own home institution, Caltech, and serves on many national and international boards and advisory committees.

Some 385 million years ago, a series of mutations allowed the sea-dwelling fish to inhabit dry land for the first time on this planet.

Curiously enough, there was a (20 million years) gap in the fossil record around the time when that transition happened. That is, until fossils of Tiktaalik roseae were found last year up in Nunavut.

The finding was reported in today’s issue of the journal Nature, and is now all over the news.

This was formerly known as Booz Allen Hamilton’s Beirut office … it is (was) strategically located right above the Danish embassy in Beirut.

A friend sent me these pictures (and others) some time ago, accompanied with the above caption. I felt I had plenty to say about them at the time, but (since I had to wait -God knows for how long- for the permission to put them on; naturally) I’ve cooled off… which, after all, might be the best thing to say here — this whole f’ing thing is obviously retarded, and a lot of people need to chill!

Incidently, I’m reading Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, where he quotes this passage from Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, by Charles Mackay, first published in London in 1841:

History in her solemn page informs us that the crusaders were but ignorant and savage men, that their motives were those of bigotry unmitigated, and that their pathway was one of blood and tears. Romance, on the other hand, dilates upon their piety and heroism, and portrays, in her most glowing and impassioned hues, their virtue and magnanimity, the imperishable honor they acquired for themselves, and the great services rendered to Christianity.

This, of course, was Mackay’s take on the particular instance of The Crusades, but as his book’s title implies, this statement has a wider range of application. He goes on:

Now what was the grand results of all these struggles? Europe expended millions of her treasures, and the blood of two million of her people; and a handful of quarrelsome knights retained possession of Palestine for about one hundred years!

How dismal are the returns on the investment? Ah. What’s it all worth?

Meanwhile, I am receiving emails urging me to sign a petition, or boycott a product. “Defend the Prophet,” they say. As if this is the way to do it; as if we could; as if it is not too late…

Kurt Vonnegut relates this conversation with Harrison Starr, the movie maker, when he mentioned he was writing a book:

… he raised his eyebrows and inquired, “Is it an anti-war book?”
“Yes,” I said. “I guess.”
“You know what I say to people when I hear they’re writing anti-war books?”
“No. What do you say, Harrison Starr?”
“I say, ‘Why don’t you write an anti-glacier book instead?’”
What he meant, of course, was that there would always be wars, that they were as easy to stop as glaciers. I believe that, too.

Time to step out of the glacier’s path, my friends. Time to survive. Hold your culture in your heart, and keep your head above water. Remember The Pianist?

This is not about the -much talked about- sightings of (the awesome) Egyptian ladies at soccer games during the Cup of African Nations, nor the related phenomenon of the ostensible nationalism that swept Egypt during the championship and the subsequent euphoria resulting from the Egyptian team clinching the cup — as much cautious optimism as that inspired!

Rather, this is about the recent discovery of a myriad of new species in the rain forests of Foja Mountains in New Guinea.

I remember first hearing about this story, and feeling hopeful but in a very subdued tone. I remember thinking how odd these feelings were. First, I was puzzled as to why this discovery inspires any kind of hope at all -like a fresh start of sorts- given that it has at best a dismal effect on my day-to-day life. It seems like Klinkenborg was wondering about the same thing. He offers this:

It is something like a sigh of relief, a sigh that measures the bleakness of living in the midst of a mass extinction that we ourselves are causing.

and …

It’s tempting to say that what really moves us in the news of this expedition is simple possibility, the feeling that discovery is still alive, that the Earth has not been entirely trampled or paved.

Then you read things like:

What was amazing was the lack of wariness of all the animals. In the wild, all species tend to be shy of humans, but that is learnt behaviour because they have encountered mankind.

and …

One good thing about the discoveries is that their mist-shrouded “lost world” is very remote and can be reached only by helicopter. The place is not much use for agriculture and with any luck will escape the worst excesses of eco-tourism.

… and you understand the source of caution in your reaction — there is always lingering doubt (supported by plenty of historical evidence) that we, as a species are going to destroy every cubic inch of our environment, and subsequently ourselves. And every time one of these spots is ruined, or one of those species is driven to extinction, you kinda feel like a little kid who’d just broken a vase, and God going: “See, this is why we never get to have nice stuff on this planet.” Of course, you want to blame it on your brother, but you’re part of it since you’ve agreed to play.

This is what we need to expose our kids to.

(photo from reuters, via photos.yahoo, via mostafa)

If peace does not come to Aceh…I’m afraid we will be destroyed worse than by the tsunami…Everything here begins with peace.”

Rufriadi,
a prominent Acehnese human rights lawyer. (via KAIROS)

The news of a peace deal between Aceh (Gam) rebels and the Indonesian goverenment, after about 6 months of talks, is being received with cautious optimism. After all, the last deal lasted for mere 6 months. This time around, however, things should be different. For one thing, last year’s tsunami (undoubtly) has factored in the priorities for people in the region. Below are excerpts from news articles shedding some light on the role of the tsunami (and the reconstruction effort in its wake) in forcing peace:
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