In the news

An unprecedented amount of caribbean coral reefs died recently. Bugger. They used to be cute.

Abdul Rahman, the man who was on trial in Afghanistan for converting to Christianity, was released due to the lack of evidence and sanity, and was given asylum in Italy. Are we going to have the same kind of circus every time somebody converts to Christianity in Afghanistan, or will all the converts from Islam to anything else be declared insane by definition? The latter idea does have its point, because IMHO committing apostasy in any visible way in a country where it is punishable by death is not a particularly sensible and balanced thing to do.

Rahman's brother was quoted as saying "He has had delusions the whole time that someone is persecuting him and wants to kill him." Uhm, you mean like all the clerics and a lot of concerned citizens in Afghanistan demanding his death? I guess being paranoid does not mean that everyone is not against you.

Some of the clerics said that Abdul Rahman's conversion is a Jewish conspiracy. Truly we are mighty and powerful if we manage to arrange for people's conversions to Christianity in remote and unpleasant countries. Hmm, if we are so powerful maybe it's not a bright idea to piss us off? Imagine how embarassing it might be to find a Bible under your pillow and religious police behind your door, especially if you are one of the clerics who has given people death sentences for less.

Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Mahmoud Al-Zahar has a dream: a map without Israel. Which makes me think that it might have been a great April Fool joke to have written "Tuomioja says: 'I have a dream: a map without Russia'". Oh well. Next year, maybe.

I am still considering opening a tinfoil turban factory.

In much better news, doctors at Wake Forest University in North Carolina learned to grow bladders from people's own cells and inplanted them into patients. So far, so good, and they are considering doing this with other organs too.