dawn.com For Saudis given to modern global culture, the religious police are the bane of life. — Photo by Reuters Culture Saudi woman blasts clerics in TV contest poem Saudi woman blasts clerics in TV contest poem RIYADH: They cruise the streets in huge Chevrolet Suburbans, watching for shops that don’t close for prayers, staking out cafes for possibly unmarried couples on illicit liaisons — known as “dates” in any other culture. The religious police, Saudi Arabia’s front-line defenders of draconian Islamic controls on public behaviour, are now in reformers’ headlights. But fear of their power and their backing by … Continue reading Saudi religious police – time to reform?

The new game By Fasi Zaka After the wrangling on the change of the NWFP’s name that left no one truly happy, a dangerous game of renaming storms Pakistan. Displeased with the new name of the province, NWFP Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti held a special function at his residence, renaming his toilet commode as the Khyber Exit. Later, he went back to complete his finger painting. Not to be outdone, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif ordered that all public urinals have Lahori Gate written on them. Luckily, President Asif Ali Zardari remained above the fray but privately asked … Continue reading The New Game of Naming new names and so forth…

Posted by Sana Saleem Nadia sways in front of a begging box outside the Dola Shah shrine in Gujrat. Arriving daily at the shrine at the crack of dawn, Nadia, who is mentally disturbed, doesn’t speak to anyone. She wails and has occasional fits of laughter. She is just one of thousands of mentally handicapped children in the country abandoned to destitution and left at the mercy of the keepers of shrines.  She was left at the shrine when she was a baby and is now being looked after by descendants of Dola Shah, a Sufi saint. Nadia is a … Continue reading Trading in misery

Arthur C Clarke said any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, and magic is what Gods do. Our history is littered with reports of angels or spirits descending down to the Earth from the heavens. Why is it when we talk to God we look up? It’s because that is where the God’s came from. Zachariah Sitchin puts forward the theory that the bible speaks not about a loving creator God, but about a group of extraterrestrials discussing what seems to be nothing more than a science project. If this turns out to be true and there is a … Continue reading Aliens: And the values of Fear!

Defense Scientists and Engineers are finally starting to understand the ultimate propulsion system that can make instantaneous space travel possible. The UFOs use this propulsion system to travel great distances instantaneously. The speed of light is 670,000,000 miles per hour – a number no human being can ever stand in any craft for a long time. Does that mean UFOs are unmanned or extra-terrestrial beings are totally different? It is possible but not likely. Theory of evolution in the Universe says that intelligent life forms are abundant in the Universe but they have evolved in a similar way. Traveling even … Continue reading Propulsion System – Bending time and space

LATE at night on a sultry evening, I watch intently as the predator senses its prey, gathers itself, and strikes. It could be a polecat, or even a mantis – but in fact it’s a microbe. The microscopic world of the single, living cell mirrors our own in so many ways: cells are essentially autonomous, sentient and ingenious. In the lives of single cells we can perceive the roots of our own intelligence. Molecular biology and genetics have driven the biosciences, but have not given us the miraculous new insights we were led to expect. From professional biologists to schoolchildren, … Continue reading The secrets of intelligence lie within a single cell

Humans can build spaceships capable of reaching the Moon within minutes; a flight to Mars will take 2.5 hours, and a flight to Alpha Centauri, which is scores of light years away from Earth, will take a mere 80 days. Spaceships of the future will take humans to the depth of the Universe .. Incredible journeys can be a reality, say two German Doctors of Physics who put forth an audacious theory. Walter Dresher from the University of Innsbruck joined forces with Joachim Hoiser, a leading scientist with the German company HPCC-Space Gmbh. “The German physicists build their work on … Continue reading Mars in 2.5 hours space flight!

Archaeology from the dark side Creationists and New Agers have formed a common front to undermine mainstream archaeology and its scientific view of the human past. Are they winning? By Andrew O’Hehir In February of 1961, three amateur gem collectors dug a mechanical gizmo encased in fossil-encrusted rock out of a mountainside in the Southern California desert. They didn’t know what it was, and began showing it to friends and associates. Within a few years this thingummy, which became known as the Coso artifact, had assumed an almost mythic importance. It consisted of a cylinder of what seemed to be … Continue reading Creationists and New Agers have formed a common front

Is Sarah Palin Trying to Become a Loon? loonwatch Is former 1/2-governor of Alaska and Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin trying to join the ranks of the Loons? On her Facebook page, Palin wrote: My, have things changed. I was honored to have Rev. Franklin Graham speak at my Governor’s Prayer Breakfasts. His good work in Alaska’s Native villages and his charitable efforts all over the world stem from his servant’s heart. In my years of knowing him, I’ve never found his tempered and biblically-based comments to be offensive – in fact his words have been encouraging and full of … Continue reading Sarah Palin asks for more support for Taliban and Al Qaeda!!!