Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
How long is this going to go on before people admit that religion is largely behind these attacks, and that the real culprits are the attackers, not the colonialist West? But I’m violating my own dictum of first honoring the dead. Fortunately, there aren’t any dead from these two attacks—yet. We know that three people are seriously injured, and that both attacks were on families.
The first, widely reported, is Monday night’s attack on train passengers in Germany by a 17-year-old Afghan immigrant. The boy (man?) used an axe to attack four members of a family from Hong Kong (two are seriously injured) before he was shot dead. This morning ISIS claimed responsibility, and investigators found the black flag of ISIS, and other signs of radicalization, in the boy’s room. Of course, we don’t know if the boy was really a “soldier of ISIS,” as the group claims, but there were certainly signs that he was following their instructions, even if indirectly.
The second attack, just reported in the Torygraph, involved a family of four French people who were knifed by a Moroccan-born man. The attack took place in an Alpine resort, and the man reportedly attacked them while shouting they were dressed too scantily. A mother, 46, and two of her daughters, 12 and 14, weren’t mortally wounded, but another daughter, only eight, was reported as “fighting for her life” after being stabbed in the chest.
The Torygraph report contains this sentence: “The local mayor, Edmond Francou, said he preferred ‘not to speculate about the motive of the attack’ in the wake of the massacre in Nice last week.
More will be revealed, of course. But if the guy’s stated motivations were genuine, how can you exculpate religion in this attack, or dare to pin it on the West? How many murders can the apologists dismiss as just retribution for the crimes of Western governments, many of whose citizens are opposed to Western incursion into the Middle East?
Does anyone at Facebook really care about policing its “community standards” in an equitable way? They allow the worst sort of Der Stürmer-ish anti-Semitism, but regularly ban Zionist sites. And now they’ve removed a post from the Facebook page of my friend Melissa Chen, secular activist and a moderator of the Global Secular Humanist Movement Facebook page (I’m a mod there too).
Melissa had reposted a post by Alishba Zarmeen defending the woman I wrote about yesterday, Qandeel Baloch, a Pakistani actress/model/activist who was murdered by her brother in an “honor killing.” Melissa’s repost, below, was removed by Facebook as a violation of those famous “community standards” (the “community,” of course, is that of easily offended Muslims). Alishba Zarmeen had to face 30 days in Facebook Jail for her transgression, but she’s fighting back as well (see here).
Melissa then reposted her original post as an attachment:
That’s really offensive, isn’t it? Melissa had the proper reply:
As far as I know, Facebook “community standards” are determined by a bunch of farmed-out factotums who simply determine off the cuff whether something is “offensive” to community standards that are not only murky, but enforced only after a complaint. Since Muslims are more liable to complain than others, I suspect, it’s posts like Melissa’s that get removed. Yet her post is, if anything, a form of free speech: a call for women in repressive Muslim countries to follow Baloch’s example and defy their woman-hating culture.
Seriously, Facebook, you count “stupid Pakistani men who try to justify honor killings” as a violation of community standards? What community are you living in?
Melissa’s tweet can be found here; retweet it if you wish.
Melania Trump, Donald’s wife, has kept a very low profile on the campaign trail, but she was more or less forced to give a speech at the Republican National Convention last night. It’s unthinkable that a future First Lady would remain a cipher to Americans until the election.
And so she spoke. Unfortunately, several sources report that she lifted an entire paragraph of her speech from—yes!—Michelle Obama. The “Daily Intelligencer” column of New York magazine reports the plagiarism from Michelle Obama’s convention speech for her husband.
Here’s the text from Trump’s speech:
My parents impressed on me the value of that you work hard for what you want in life. That your word is your bond and you do what you say and keep your promise. That you treat people with respect. Show the values and morals in in the daily life. That is the lesson that we continue to pass on to our son.
We need to pass those lessons on to the many generations to follow. [Cheering] Because we want our children in these nations to know that the only limit to your achievement is the strength of your dreams and your willingness to work for them.
And here’s Obama:
And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say you’re going to do; that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don’t know them, and even if you don’t agree with them.
And Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values, and pass them on to the next generation. Because we want our children — and all children in this nation — to know that the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work for them.
There’s no way that’s coincidence. But I don’t think this can be pinned on Melania. Though she speaks five languages, English is not her native tongue, and her words were almost certainly concocted by speechwriters.
Nevertheless, it doesn’t look good—one more gaffe in the Trump campaign. Embarrassed, Trump’s campaign issued this statement at 2 a.m.:
“Fragments that reflected her own thinking?” What the hell does that mean? It means this: “Melania, in her beautiful speech, cribbed some bits from Michelle Obama’s speech that she thought sounded good.”
I read about this; I didn’t see it. Nothing short of waterboarding (a plank in Trump’s platform) would get me to watch that confederacy of dunces.
If you have good photos, send them in, folks, as I’ll need a fairly good supply when I’m in Poland. Today we feature a group of pictures by Jacques Hausser called “Ugly flies”. (In my view, there’s no such thing as an ugly fly.) Jacque’s comments and notes are indented.
I submit you some ugly flies, out of fairness: why should they not share the fame provided by WEIT with so many cute mammals, birds and butterflies ? They are not responsible of their physical appearance, after all. I’m not always sure of their identification and corrections are welcome.
The hornet robber fly, Asilus crabroniformis (Asilidae). A large, predatory robber fly, eating dung beetle, among other insects. The larvae live in the cow dung.
Conops vesicularis. (Conopidae). The adult is a nectar feeder, but the larvae are endoparasites of wasps. It was suggested to use this fly to fight the invasion of the asiatic hornet, Vespa velutina.
A dance fly, Empis tesselata (Empidae). They are predatory, but everybody likes a sip of nectar, no ?
Suilia gigantea (Heleomysidae). This species lays its eggs on truffles, and is used as an indicator of these fungi: just follow the insect. I have frequently seen the fly in my garden, but I did never find a truffle…
And no, this Suillia is not worshipping the Lord of the flies.
Here’s a video of some individuals on black truffles:
Tachina fera(Tachinidae). The adult lives on flowers (they like Asteraceae and Aipiaceae), and lay their eggs on the plants. The young larvae pierce the skin of caterpillars of various moths and develop therein as endoparasites.
Tachina grossa(Tachinidae). One of the largest fly of Europe (15-19 mm), with the same way of life as the previous one.
It’s July 19, Martyrs’ Day in Myanmar and a hot day in Chicago. On this day in 1848, the U.S.’s first woman’s rights convention began at Seneca Falls, New York. On July 19, 1903, Maurice Garin won the first Tour de France. He won it the next year, too, but was disqualified for some unspecified form of cheating. And on this day in 1976, Sagarmatha National Park was created to protect Mount Everest and the surrounding regions. I’ve hiked there twice, and consider it the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.
Notables born on this day include Edgar Degas (1834), while those who died on this day include Margaret Fuller (1850) and Alan Lomax (2002). Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili is spouting the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., but Cyrus shuts her down.
Hili: I have a dream.
Cyrus: What dream?
Hili: That dogs and cats can be friends, like us.
Cyrus: Forget it. Nature has its rights.
In Polish:
Hili: Mam marzenie.
Cyrus: Jakie?
Hili: Żeby wszystkie psy i koty tak się lubiły jak my.
Cyrus: Zapomnij, natura ma swoje prawa.
Leon and his staff are scouring southern Poland looking for an old wooden house to move to their land near Wroclawek—their future home. But it’s been raining, causing a problem for The Dark Tabby:
Leon: Is it worth to get my paws wet?
And a creative Canadian elaborated on a “Don’t Feed the Squirrels” sign. From the great website Meanwhile in Canada, courtesy of reader Taskin. It is well known, of course, that squirrels are duplicitous.
Meanwhile in Montréal, business is good at the Café Sauvage (note the new sign, which has French on one side and English on the other, as required by Quebec law):
Lord, do I feel sorry for the people of Turkey! Recep Erdogan is leading the nation straight back into the Ottoman Empire. Here’s an email I just got from my CNN headline subscription:
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking exclusively to CNN’s Becky Anderson through his translator, says he would approve reinstating death penalty if lawmakers approve the measure.
Guess who’s gonna get executed?
My friends in Turkey: if you think the failure of the coup is a success for democracy, think again. You’re about to be plunged into the horrors of a combination autocracy and theocracy.
I was going to write about Pakistani model and actress Qandeel Baloch, who was murdered by her brother in an “honor killing” just three days ago, but I didn’t know much about her, and, of course, honor killings are a dime a dozen in the misogynistic and faith-ridden culture of Pakistan. But then I read a truly touching and heartfelt tribute to her by Maajid Nawaz in The Daily Beast, “Murdered Pakistani Icon Quandeel Baloch had zero f***s left to give.” Do read it, as it’s immensely moving.
The facts are clear: Baloch was not just a model and actress, but was actively challenging Pakistani’s paternalistic culture by posting salacious pictures of herself on social media, explaining why she was doing it, and—her greatest “crime”—consorting with a Pakistani cleric during Ramadan, during which she flirted with him, sat on his lap, and had drinks with him. Smitten, the cleric. Mufti Abdul Qavi, reportedly asked her to marry him. (He was fired, of course, but nobody will kill him. It’s the woman who must be killed, for she’s the temptress.)
(From Al-Jazeera): ‘As women we must stand up for ourselves,’ wrote Baloch, next to this photograph on her official Facebook page [Al Jazeera/Facebook/Qandeel Baloch]For these and other “crimes,” Baloch was strangled by her brother, who first drugged her before smothering her. Reported to the police by Baloch’s father (a welcome act of “dishonor”), her brother has been arrested. He showed no remorse, saying that he was glad for what he did, and it was better to kill her than live with dishonor and have to kill himself. Here are a few more of the “crimes” that led to her murder:
On her final, July 4 post to her Facebook page, which has almost 800,000 fans, she wrote: “I am trying to change the typical orthodox mindset of people who don’t wanna come out of their shells of false beliefs and old practices. ”
The 26-year-old faced frequent misogynist abuse and death threats but continued to post.
Earlier this year, Baloch offered to strip if the Pakistani cricket team beat India.
She also posed for selfies with a high-profile Muslim cleric in an incident that saw him swiftly rebuked by the country’s religious affairs ministry.
Before her death Baloch spoke of worries about her safety and had appealed to the interior ministry to provide her with security for protection. No help was provided and the interior ministry has not commented on her death.
Here’s one of the incriminating photos of Baloch with the cleric:
Qandeel’s videos were not very different from the thousands of others shared by 20-something social media celebrities across the Internet. She pouted into the camera, discussed her hairstyles and shared cooing confessions about her celebrity crushes.
But in Pakistan, her flirty antics pushed the boundaries of what is acceptable.
On the list of 145 countries featured in the World Economic Forum’s 2015 Gender Gap Report, Pakistan is second to last with regards to gender disparity.According to the Independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, violence against women is rampant, with as many as 212 women being killed in the name of ‘honor’ in the first five months of 2016.
Baloch in fact made a video, called “Ban,” mocking those who tried to censor her acts. You can see how that video, below, would anger a repressive, censorious group of men who, of course, secretly coveted her. It’s a real slap in the face to the Pakistani Pecknsniffs:
And a few emotional words from Nawaz, whose piece you must read:
I will focus on Qandeel herself, her courage, and what that courage should mean for the rest of us. So let us not just call Qandeel an aspiring Pakistani model or an aspiring actress. Let us not refer to Qandeel only as a Pakistani social media star, and let us not primarily define her as the Pakistani Kim Kardashian.
Qandeel Baloch, real name Fauzia Azeem, may have been many of those things, but she transcended every single one of them. For despite Kim Kardashian’s undoubtedly noble and widely lauded contribution to social justice in America, she does not risk her life daily merely by existing.
But by her mere presence Qandeel Baloch was a one-woman revolution against religiously and culturally justified misogyny. This in a society where the cost of speaking out can be lethal betrayal by those who are meant to love you the most: your own family. So most of all let us remember Qandeel Baloch as a fearless Pakistani women’s rights campaigner who had zero fucks left to give.
And about the odious practice of honor killing, which of course is reinforced by Islam as well as Hindusim:
The way Qandeel did this was to highlight the sheer hypocrisy present in a society that punishes sexuality while returning one of the highest gay porn searches in the world. Men disparagingly labeled her as “loose” while drooling all over her. Women muttered at her scandalousness while simultaneously envying her.
That Qandeel was immensely brave is self-evident. Even in his mourning, her father recognized this fact. But the purpose of such misnamed “honor” killings is enforcement. They are the last resort mechanism left to a society that fetishizes sex in the name of religion and culture, and as a result despises and most of all fears female expression. That millions of Pakistani girls—who saw in Qandeel a ray of hope—will now be intimidated into silence is beyond doubt.
Finally, some words that made me tear up:
My dear brothers, let us all have zero fucks left to give. In what world could it possibly be “honorable” to strangle your own sister to death with your bare hands, then boast about it? In which religion is the murder of your own sibling more “honorable” than love? We have to accept that our “honor” is not defined by our female relatives’ actions. Our “honor” can only be defined by our own behavior. So to those among us who agree with me, there is only one option left to take. Let us celebrate Qandeel, not be ashamed of her. Let us place Qandeel’s beautiful image on our T-shirts. Let us proudly post her pictures on our social media accounts. Let us show those who prefer to suffocate beauty that we are not scared. We are not scared of female emancipation, nor are we scared of those who enforce against it.
And when our brothers stop us to ask why we are doing so, let us cite the passage of the Quran in reply: “for what crime was she killed?”
. . . And finally, Qandeel Baloch, I say to you not rest in peace, for that would ascribe to your death a level of passivity that your life proves you would resent. No, to my sister Qandeel Baloch, you fearless Pakistani warrior who had zero fucks left to give, I say to you…may you rest in power.
